Valencia fall after letting a lead of nearly 30 points slip away

“I don’t know if it was fear, but we have to keep being brave”: Valencia is ruing its most painful defeat. Coach Xavi Albert said he regretted that his team had tried to manage a lead of nearly 30 points at one stage, before losing to Olympiacos in overtime. He urged his players to learn from the setback and keep playing boldly.

For the coach, the game turned when Valencia tried to protect its advantage instead of continuing to play. He also felt Olympiacos had changed its mindset after the break, beyond the impact of its switching defence. He recalled that the situation had been reversed two weeks earlier, when his team won on ASVEL’s court.

Another member of the Olympiacos staff, assistant to Georgios Bartzokas, acknowledged that the first half had been “disastrous” for his team. He praised the defensive shift after the break, which changed the course of the game, and said the team was already thinking about Barcelona. Christos Papas, another Olympiacos assistant, congratulated Valencia for its effort and the team it had assembled.

Albert stressed that the team must learn from the defeat and that its mentality cannot be “negotiable”. He also pointed out that games are long and said Valencia must aim to become a better team.