Olympiacos Defeat Anadolu Efes 89-66 in EuroLeague; Pablo Laso Addresses Mike James Injury

Anadolu Efes suffered an 89-66 defeat against the last champion Olympiacos during the fourth round of the EuroLeague season. Played at the Sunela Arena in Athens, the match dropped Pablo Laso’s squad to a record of one win and three losses through the opening four weeks of the continental competition.

Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown in Athens

The host side established control early in the fixture. Olympiacos jumped out to a 26-16 lead by the end of the opening quarter. Anadolu Efes narrowed the gap slightly before halftime, with the scoreboard reading 35-31 in favor of the Greek club at the intermission.

The second half, however, belonged entirely to the hosts. Olympiacos extended their advantage to 62-49 at the conclusion of the third period before pulling away for the 89-66 final margin. The officiating crew for the match consisted of Robert Lottermoser of Germany, Michele Rossi of Italy, and Gentian Cici of Albania.

Scoring Tallies and Individual Figures

Olympiacos distributed their scoring effectively across the roster, led by Montero with 16 points and Jones with 11. Papanikolaou added 8, Fournier finished with 7, while Dorsey, Milutinov, Joseph, and Dunston rounded out the scoring for the home side.

For Anadolu Efes, Payne led the visitors with 12 points, closely followed by Dozier with 11 and Lloyd with 10. Yusta added 8 points, Strazel scored 7, Malcolm and Ercan Osmani chipped in 6 each, Russell recorded 5, and Saric finished with 1 point, while Fernando and Jones were held scoreless.

Pablo Laso Addresses the Absence of Mike James

Speaking after the final buzzer, Anadolu Efes head coach Pablo Laso addressed the long-term absence of Mike James, who was sidelined with an injury for the remainder of the season. Eurohoops reported that Laso acknowledged the psychological and tactical weight of losing such a cornerstone player so early in the campaign.

This is a very important loss for the club, the team, and his teammates, Laso said in post-match remarks. Especially at the beginning of the season, when you are trying to build your system, losing such a player is a huge blow. But we cannot think, Okay, everything is over. To say that this defeat is normal because we lost Mike would be very wrong. We are going to be a different team from now on, but we have to be better than what we showed on the court today.

Laso Blames Turnovers and Rebounds for Defeat

Beyond roster adjustments, Laso pointed directly to statistical deficiencies as the root cause of the blowout defeat in Pire, highlighting 17 team turnovers and 21 offensive rebounds surrendered to Olympiacos. Eurohoops noted the Spanish coach’s emphasis on fundamental hustle stats over shooting percentages.

If we cannot compete with our opponent in these statistics, it doesn’t matter whether our shots go in or not, Laso stated. We were not good in these areas tonight. That was the main reason why Olympiacos dominated most of the match. He also defended Dario Saric against criticism over a difficult shooting night, stating that a single poor performance does not define the forward’s value to the squad over the course of the season.

Upcoming EuroLeague Schedule

Meanwhile, Olympiacos prepares for away matchups against Valencia and Barcelona.