It's eighth versus seventh in a crucial clash as Valencia (13-12) welcomes Olympiacos (14-11).
Justin Anderson, Valencia: 'We have an edge that they do not have - our fans'
The Spanish team has won three of its last four, showing its defensive excellence by holding opponents to 66, 62 and 72 points in that trio of wins. Valencia produced a similar display to win 56-63 in Piraeus two months ago, so the Reds will hope Thomas Walkup will again lead the offense with the same effectiveness that saw him pair 16 points with 8 assists in last week's victory at Bayern. He also has the task of slowing down Valencia playmaker Chris Jones, who had 14 points plus 8 helpers to send his team to victory at ALBA last time out.
Alex Mumbru, Valencia head coach
"It's a game that will be complicated just because of the opponent. Valencia has always played against Olympiacos in the EuroLeague and we always lost against them at home. It's a difficult game against a team that plays good basketball. They had their bigs injured lately, but it looks like Fall will be back and they signed Moses Wright, who is another intimidating player. They play off the pass and they play very well in offense. We will have to be able to find our virtues on offense to find their weaknesses."
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos head coach
"In the first leg we played really bad against Valencia. Our offense was poor and our percentages were bad. On the other hand, they played very good and they remain in a good shape. A few days ago they beat Barcelona in Spain. Right now they play a different style of basketball, because they are missing their two tall guys, Davis and Toure, and that makes them play with more flexible shapes. It is going to be a tough game."
Justin Anderson, Valencia player
"We must go game by game. We can only focus on Olympiacos, and not what comes after that. History tells us that we have never beatedn them here, but the good thing about history is that we havethe chance to change it. We need to start concentrated and with the right intensity. We have an edge that they do not have - our fans. I am sure they will come to support us and be noisy. After our two straight wins I think our fans want to see what we are capable of."
Giannoulis Larentzakis, Olympiacos player
"It is a very important game of us. We know that it is going to be a very intense game. Valencia has one of the best defenses in the league. They play with physicality. But we have worked hard for this game and we know what we must do in order to get the win."