Željko Obradović’s return to face his beloved Partizan and Olympiacos’ extraordinary comeback were the two biggest stories of EuroLeague Round 5.
At Belgrade Arena, everything went pretty much as expected. Partizan fans gave their legendary coach a spectacular welcome and a standing ovation, while Panathinaikos settled matters early with suffocating defense, taking some of the drama out of the occasion.
At Roig Arena, nothing went according to plan. Well, we expected a close game. What we got was complete madness.
Olympiacos equalled the EuroLeague record by overturning a 28-point deficit, eventually beating Valencia 102-97 and handing the Spanish side their first defeat of the competition.
Both games have already been dissected from every angle. That’s not what the EuroLeague Notebook is for.
Let’s see what else happened – and what you might have missed.
The Coaching Carousel
Comunicado oficial | Paolo Galbiati no continúa al frente del banquillo de Kosner Baskonia.
🗞️ https://t.co/fToX5tDmxv https://t.co/1xekrYHnO3
— Kosner Baskonia (@Baskonia) October 14, 2026
Yes, it’s started. Just five rounds into the season, we already have our first dismissal.
And the dubious honor goes to Paolo Galbiati, whose Baskonia have been dreadful to start the season.
“Millions,” Galbiati replied when asked what his team needed to perform in the EuroLeague the way they do in Spain’s ACB League.
He was joking. But not entirely.
In situations like these, Baskonia’s management usually have two names on speed dial: Duško Ivanović and Velimir Perasović.
This time, they went with the latter. Peras is back in Vitoria for a fourth stint as coach. Make that five if we count his playing days.
Pepe Poeta is also on the hot seat. Relative to the individual talent available to him, his team have probably been the worst in the EuroLeague so far.
Pablo Laso has a little more credit in the bank because of Mike James’ injury, but a heavy home defeat to Bayern certainly won’t have helped his cause.
By the time the next Panini EuroLeague sticker album hits the shelves, half the coaches might already be in the wrong place.
Fantasy King
Evan Fournier and Jean Montero were the driving forces behind Olympiacos’ comeback.
Even on one of his worst nights since returning from the NBA, Sasha Vezenkov somehow managed to collect 16 fantasy points.
Fantasy King for a reason.
Numbers That Stand Out
– All 12 Fenerbahçe players got on the scoresheet in their 99-80 victory over Zalgiris. Johnny Juzang scored the fewest points (3), while Shavon Shields led the way with 17.
– Both Gach has never shot better than 35 percent from three over a full season in his career. Five rounds into the EuroLeague campaign, ASVEL’s new forward is shooting an astonishing 69 percent – 9-of-13.
– Partizan could do with a little of Gach’s magic. They’re shooting just 30.2 percent from three this season – 35-of-116. And they’re hardly letting it fly.
– Filip Petrušev didn’t play a single minute against Crvena Zvezda in the previous round. “Coach’s decision,” explained Xavi Pascual. Against Baskonia, however, he scored 17 points in 23 minutes.
– After 11 consecutive defeats, Dwayne Washington finally found himself on the winning side of a EuroLeague game. And he played a major part in Bayern’s victory over Efes, finishing with 21 points and two assists.
– With Nadir Hifi sidelined by an ankle injury, Tyson Etienne apparently took that as permission to shoot whenever he pleased. He attempted an outrageous 17 threes, making seven, in Paris’ loss to Virtus.
Buzzer-Beater
If you had been asked to name five players most likely to hit the first game-winning buzzer-beater of the EuroLeague season, Chris Jones probably would have made your list.
He wasn’t the first, but he was the second, following Marcus Carr’s winner for Virtus against Olympiacos.
“Chris has been one of the most pleasant surprises for me, both as a person and as a player. I knew him as an opponent, but… He’s an exceptional guy, in his own world, a professional, a winner,” Vasilije Micić, Jones’ former teammate at Hapoel, said recently.
With the score tied at 82-82 and eight seconds remaining in Zvezda’s win over ASVEL, Semi Ojeleye grabbed the rebound.
Jones strolled across half court as though he’d just come out for warmups, got to his favorite spot for a long two and buried it.
As though he were the only person in the building.
