Spanoulis shines late to lead undefeated Reds into Top 16

Reigning Euroleague MVP Vassilis Spanoulis made 4 fourth-quarter three-pointers – including three in a row in a 0-13 run – as Olympiacos Piraeus came back from 11 down to beat Unicaja Malaga 74-82 at Martin Carpena Arena and in the process clinched a Top 16 berth. Spanoulis was at his best late in leading the Reds to their ninth consecutive victory dating back to last season. He finished with 21 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting plus 4 assists – the second of which put him in fifth place on the Euroleague’s career assists list. He passed former CSKA Moscow great J.R. Holden for that honor. Matt Lojeski added 19 points, while Brant Dunston scored 13 and blocked 3 shots for the victors. Unicaja dropped to 2-4 and is now tied for fourth place with Stelmet Zielona Gora in Group C. Nik Caner-Medley and Rafa Hettsheimeir each scored 11 for the home team and Carlos Suarez and Earl Calloway had 10 apiece. The hosts’ hounding press put Unicaja in control for much of the game, but the Reds held Unicaja scoreless for six minutes in the fourth quarter and marched to victory.