Short of many key players – Marko Guduric and Shavon Shields from the beginning, Devin Booker joined the group in the second quarter after a painful hit at the thigh – Olimpia impressed in Crete against a powerhouse like Olympiacos for almost three quarter before falling 76-71. It was a tough game: on top of the missing players, Olimpia had to deal with huge foul troubles, especially its point-man Lorenzo Brown who had three in the second period and spent more time tha advised sitting on the bench and even when he was on the court he had to play carefully. If Brown had fouls, Nico Mannion – his back -, who started the game really strong, had his share of them,two in the first half. Coach Messina had to mix and match the rotation and found a way to stay ahead. Olimpia came back from an early seven-point deficit to lead in the second quarter – five points at intermission – and had a beautiful start to the second half. With Brown n the court, Brooks hitting jumpers, Nebo being a huge presence in the middle, Olimpia led by as many as 12 points. When energy and fouls took a toll, Olympiacos – using its big names, mostly Evan Fournier and Sasha Vezenkov – came back within two after three quarters and took the lead in the fourth. However, Olimpia stayed in the game and forced Olympiacos to play through the end. With 50 seconds left, the margin was still two points. So, a lot of good notes came out of this game. On Sunday, Olimpia will face Fenerbahce to wrap up its preseason.

OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS-EA7 EMPORIO ARMANI MILAN 76-71

Olympiacos Piraeus: Walkup 8, Ward 10, Larentzakis, Saben 6, Vezenkov 12, koumadjie 2, Peters 5, Milutinov 8, Hall 4, McKissic 5, Fournier 15.

Olimpia Milan: Mannion 9 (2/3 , 1/5, 0/2, 16 min), Brown 14 (2/3, 2/6, 3/3, 3 r, 6 a, 23 min), Ellis 4 (2/3, 0/1, 16 min), Booker 3 (1/3, 0/1, 1/2, 9 min), Tonut (0/2, 0/1, 12 min), Bolmaro 8 (4/6, 7 r, 27 min), Brooks 9 (2/5, 1/5, 2/2, 4 r, 25 min), LeDay 13 (4/5, 1/4, 2/2, 7 r, 27 min), Ricci 2 (1/1, 0/1, 3 r, 10 min), Nebo 10 (5/7, 10 r, 26 min), Dunston (0/1).