EuroLeague Matchday 5: Valencia Puts Perfect Record on the Line Against Olympiacos

Valencia Basket arrives at the fifth matchday as it never has before at this point in the season: undefeated, co-leading with Panathinaikos, and with the sense that their start is no accident. They've won in Istanbul, mounted an 18-point comeback in Lyon, and dispatched Hapoel at home. On Tuesday (21:00), at Roig Arena, they face the most serious test yet: Olympiacos, the European champions, who arrive with a 3-1 record and with fresh memories of what they did to Efes on Friday.

A champion that dominates the boards

Olympiacos crushed Anadolu Efes 89-66 with a physical superiority rarely seen: 49 rebounds to 31, 21 of them on the offensive glass. That's the first challenge for Valencia, who lost the rebounding battle against Hapoel (40-41) but compensated with 48% from three-point range. The Greeks have Jean Montero as their hottest scorer, Codi Miller-McIntyre as the competition's assist leader (6.7 per game), and a heavy paint presence with Nikola Milutinov, Mbaye Ndiaye, and Tyrique Jones. Their only loss came in Bologna, with a Marcus Carr three-pointer at the buzzer.

Xavi Albert's team, meanwhile, arrives with an extra game in their legs. On Sunday they lost at Palau to Barcelona (89-86) in a thrilling finish, with Nikola Mirotic's final three-pointer falling short. TJ Shorts, their best performer in Barcelona with 19 points and a 22 rating, remains the reference point for maintaining the high pace that's been working so well for Valencia in Europe.

Read also:

• EuroLeague Matchday 4 recap: Valencia keeps pace with Panathinaikos
• Valencia Basket stays perfect against Hapoel and leads 4-0 in EuroLeague (93-82)
• 49 rebounds and Montero: Olympiacos crushes Laso's Efes (89-66)

Obradovic returns to Belgrade

The other big game of the matchday is played at the same time in Belgrade. Panathinaikos, the other undefeated team, visits Partizan, and does so with Zeljko Obradovic on the green bench, in an emotional return to the house he coached for five seasons. The Greek team arrives in great form: they dominated Fenerbahce with Mathias Lessort named Matchday MVP. Joan Peñarroya's Partizan, which lost its undefeated status in Madrid, needs more from Carlik Jones than the four points he added after halftime at Movistar Arena.

The other Spanish teams

Barcelona hosts Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday (20:30) with high morale after beating Valencia, but with the European wound of 16-33 that Zalgiris inflicted in the final quarter. Oded Kattash's Maccabi just made their debut against Milano and arrive with Yam Madar in form.

Kosner Baskonia, leaders of the Liga Endesa, host Dubai (20:30) with a negative European record (1-3). The good news for Paolo Galbiati is that on Sunday, against Joventut, his team made 16 three-pointers, after the three they hit against Besiktas. Xavi Pascual's Dubai comes off scoring just 58 points against Crvena Zvezda, their worst scoring performance in the competition.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, visit Olimpia Milano (20:30) in search of their first road victory. Both arrive with a 1-3 record. Pedro Martínez's team will be without Gabriel Deck, whose shoulder injury "is more serious than we thought," according to his coach. At Milano, Moses Wright, who posted the highest rating of last matchday (32), is the main interior threat.

The rest of the matchday

On Tuesday, Fenerbahce hosts Zalgiris Kaunas, who come off a win at Palau, and Tony Parker's ASVEL faces Ibon Navarro's Crvena Zvezda. On Wednesday, Hapoel hosts a Besiktas team that only wins on the road, Anadolu Efes and Bayern fight to get out of 1-3, and Nadir Hifi's Paris, the competition's leading scorer, hosts Mumbrú's Virtus Bologna.

EuroLeague Matchday 5 Schedule