Legendary comeback for Olympiacos in Valencia
In an unbelievable game, Olympiacos stunned Valencia with a 102–97 victory at the Roig Arena, overturning a 28-point deficit. The comeback equalled the biggest comeback in the history of the competition.
The European champions completed their legendary comeback with Montero leading the scoring with 26 points, while Evan Fournier was the top performer in the second half, scoring 23 points, all after the break.
Giorgos Bartzokas started the game with Miller-McIntyre, Fournier, Ward, Vezenkov and Milutinov. However, from the opening tip, Valencia imposed the tempo. The players coached by Pedro Martínez dominated Olympiacos, who not only struggled defensively but also failed to find their usual offensive flow. As a result, the Spanish side built a 14-point lead (31–17) by the end of the first quarter.
Nothing changed in the second quarter as well. Olympiacos continued to disappoint and, apart from Montero and Papanikolaou, who tried to keep the team in the game during the first half, the 'red & whites' could not put up any real resistance against the hosts. In fact, a 3-pointer by Shorts gave Valencia its biggest lead of the night just before halftime, making it 59–34.
After the break, however, the European champions finally came to life at the Roig Arena. Although Valencia extended its lead to 28 points after the first triple of the second half, the 'red & whites' refused to give up. Bartzokas' players improved defensively, won the 50-50 balls, and Fournier, who had failed to score in the first half, finally got into rhythm and sparked the comeback. Alongside Vezenkov and Milutinov, he played a leading role in Olympiacos' resurgence. With a 25–12 run in the third quarter, our team cut the deficit to 12 points (71–59) heading into the final period.
Giorgos Bartzokas was ejected at the start of the 4rth quarter after the bench received two technical fouls, with the second charged to him. Assistant coach Christos Pappas took over the team's leadership, but the lineup of Montero, Fournier, Papanikolaou, Ndiaye and Milutinov was determined to keep fighting, no matter what went wrong. Olympiacos first cut the deficit to single digits, before Ndiaye and Fournier turned into defensive ...goalkeepers, recording consecutive steals that brought the game within a single point.
With 2:32 remaining, Olympiacos took the lead for the first time. Following a block by Papanikolaou, Vezenkov had the chance to give the 'red & whites' a two-possession advantage but missed the second of his two free throws. Jean Montero did the same a few seconds later, giving Valencia an opportunity to force overtime, as the outstanding Dominican guard missed the potential game-winning shot.
The extra 5' turned into an absolute thriller. Olympiacos and Valencia threw everything they had into the battle, playing time reached its limits, and the lead changed hands repeatedly. With 54'' still on the clock, Olympiacos got a +5 lead and held on to that advantage to seal a breathtaking victory.
The quarters: 31–17, 59–34, 71–59, 90–90, 97–102.
