By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia guard Codi Miller-McIntyre had just 1-4 shots before the final seconds of his team’s road game against Olympiacos Piraeus.
With 10 seconds to play and Baskonia down 74 – 73, McIntyre received the inbounds pass, carried the ball to the other side of the floor, and hit the jumper that handed the Vitoria side a 74 – 75 win.
“The play is actually to give Chima Moneke the ball, he played amazing tonight and he continues playing amazing throughout the whole season,” Miller-McIntyre told Eurohoops. “They did a good job on him and there were only six seconds left so I just decided to take the shot.”
“Everybody expects me to drive super hard on the right and I expected it, created some space and made the pull-back,” Miller-McIntyre added. “I just came back in the game and it was all about making the right move.”
Olympiacos had come back from down 48 – 61 early in the third period to take the lead for the first time in the second half when Alec Peters drained the triple for the 72 – 71 with 2:42 to play.
After Baskonia went up with a basket by Chima Moneke, Giannoulis Larentzakis put the Reds ahead again, only for Miller-McIntyre to drain the basket for the victory.
Chima Moneke led Baskonia overall with 20 points while Tadas Sedekerskis had 12 points plus 13 rebounds and Markus Howard scored 12.
As he said after the game: “I feel like I made a difference today, I want to push the team to get more wins. It’s even better than winning by 20 points because we showed character”.
Moneke added that especially after this win, Baskonia is back for good: “It’s a long season, many had written us off, but we don’t listen to them. Coach Ivanovic brings something different, I love Coach Peñarroya, but now we are focused. We had our backs against the wall, we had no other choice, we had to react”.
Thanks to this win, Baskonia improved to 3-4, the same record that Olympiacos now has.
“It’s a great feeling to win and it’s also motivation for our team,” Miller-McIntyre also commented. “We see that if we do everything right then nothing is impossible, even getting a win against a great team like Olympiacos on the road. But of course, we have to focus on maintaining that lead when we get it.”
Isaiah Canaan delivered 23 points for Olympiacos, hitting multiple 3-pointers to pace his team’s comeback. Alec Peters added 22 points and Moustapha Fall also had a big night with 10 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
“Milutinov played with an injection after a toe fracture”
Fall played almost by himself in the center position, since Nikola Milutinov tried to compete injured and was able to stay on the court just for three minutes.
Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas elaborated on Milutinov’s situation talking about the game: “It was the second game in a row we lost on the last possession. We have to keep our heads up, keep fighting, and stick together. What I want to say about Nikola Milutinov is that he fractured his toe three days ago, he played with an injection tonight. He couldn’t play any longer”.