Jean Montero freezes the Roig Arena in Olympiacos' victory against Valencia (97-102)

Jean Montero, the great Taronja idol just a few months ago, had no mercy for Valencia Basket, the team that elevated him, and led (26 points and 11 fouls received) a memorable comeback by Olympiacos, who lost by 28 points in the third quarter (62-34), to win in overtime at the Roig Arena (97-102).

Valencia seemed to be an atomic team again, as if there had not been a few months of rest between the last Euroleague and the present one, as if Pedro Martínez had not left and a young coach from the house called Xavi Albert had taken command. Kam Taylor and Nikola Mirotic gave him a lot of power in both halves of the court. Two heavyweights who made the difference. The Spanish power forward has fallen on his feet in the Roig Arena. Albert has been quick to give him stripes and he can be heard in training as if he were just another technician. His vast experience compensates for any physical deterioration at 35 years old.

The taronja team defended well, dominated rebounding, ran... The basketball that the Valencian coach polishes between games with training on very short, very brief attacks. Ten seconds, twelve, no more. Valencia has also found in the little TJ Shorts a demon who seems to go at a different speed, an ideal replacement for Jean Montero. And when the group goes on a roll it is unstoppable.

With 41-24 and Bartzokas totally desperate, the Greek coach had to call a timeout because his team was bleeding. The coach raised the white flag and the stands roared with pure emotion. The European champion was clearly faltering. Georgios Bartzokas could not contain the tremendous push of Valencia, the only team in the Euroleague that averages more than one hundred points per game, and tried to compensate by shaking the bench more than usual. But only Jean Montero seemed to be able to stand up to an unleashed rival. The point guard, introduced in the pregame with a thunderous ovation, emblematic of the last ACB champion, scored with his usual ease.

After those 28 points lead, Olympiacos reacted and left their rival with only 31 points in the second half. The European champion began to eat up the deficit using great defense. The Greek group, now without Bartzokas, expelled, covered their ring and began to run on the counterattack. The ties began to bother the Roig Arena, which went from the party to celebrating an extension. The trend did not change in extra time and Valencia suffered its first defeat.

Real Madrid seems to be starting to pick up the pace in the Euroleague and added its second victory (89-98) at Armani Milan's home. Pedro Martínez's team found a leader in a great Andrés Feliz, who closed the game with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. The top scorer (16) was Theo Maledon. The white team, who had made up for the 0-3 with which they started the tournament by winning the day before Partizan, had the perfect victim in the bottom team to continue improving their feelings.

More difficult was Barcelona's victory, at home, against Maccabi (90-87). Aleksander Sekulic's team, where Kevin Punter had 19 points, won thanks to a triple by Justin Robinson. It occupies the top zone of the classification of this Euroleague.