Nikola Milutinov is back for Olympiacos for the big clash against Fenerbahce
2020 will begin in January 2nd for Euroleague fans when Round 17 will begin with some good matches. The one very interesting is the clash between Olympiacos Pireus and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, two teams with huge achievements in this competition and with big aspirations for every year. Well, is not the same case this year, because both teams have a lot of problems and currently they are on 13th and 15th.
Olympiacos travelled for the last game in Spain, where they meet Barcelona Lassa, one of the main favourites to win this year’s competition. They were beaten by 10 points, 90-80 in a game where Olympiacos made 16 turnovers and 22 personal fouls. They have some chances to get a nice result in Spain, but in the third quarter, Barcelona took a 10 points lead and protect it until the last second of the game. What drags down the Greek powerhouse, was the 3-point shooting where they completed only 6 shots out of 21 attempts. The main contributors were: Willie Reed (15 points and 4 rebounds), Aleksandar Vezenkov (14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists) and Kostas Papanikolaou (14 points and 5 rebounds). The great news is that Nikola Milutinov will be back for the Reds.
Fenerbahce’s season is surely one to forget for all their fans, especially in Euroleague. They are on the 15th place with a 5-11 record. They are on 0-4 run and in this game, the win is a must for them. In their last game, they beat Buyukcekmece away 92-68. That game marks the debut of Malcolm Thomas, a new player brought in to improve Fener’s scoring options in the paint. The main scorers were: Melih Mahmutoglu (23 points and 4 rebounds), Kostas Sloukas (17 points and 14 assists) and Leo Westermann (17 points and 3 assists).
I expect a big fight in Pireus because both teams need a win very badly, but without Vesely, Lauvergne and Duverioglu it will be very difficult for the Turkish side to make a decent job in the paint.
Photo: Euroleague
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
