By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With Marcus Slaughter getting back to the rotation, Real Madrid found its defensive identity. Olympiacos never really lost it and the two powerhouses got easy home wins against Galatasaray and EA7 Milano.
The Spaniards after a close first quarter (25-24) created a 55-39 advantage in halftime and never felt any kind of real pressure from the Turks until the end. Felipe Reyes dominated the paint (22 p., 11 r.), Rudy Fernandez was spectacular (15 p.) and Slaughter played almost for 20 minutes, bringing back defensive tenacity on the way to a 93-78 win. Erceg (17 p.), Arroyo (11 p.) and Arslan (11 p.) tried but couldn’t do much.
Olympiacos exploded in the second half on got a 81-58 blow out win. Brent Petway and Oliver Lafayette with 13 points each were the top scorers of the winners, the American guard had 4/5 threes. Also Printezis, Sloukas and Lojeski played key parts on the court, letting Vasilis Spanoulis get a rare chance for rest, as he played less than 20 minutes. Alessandro Gentile with only 12 points was the only player of the Italian champs who scored in double digits.