GRE/BRA - Olympiacos win Intercontinental Cup opener

SAO PAULO (FIBA Americas League/Euroleague) - Olympiacos knocked off Pinheiros/Sky in the opening game of the Intercontinental Cup on Friday night in Brazil, 81-70.

In a battle between the two-time defending champions of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, Olympiacos, and the 2013 winners of the FIBA Americas League, Pinheiros, the Greeks prevailed with Vassilis Spanoulis pouring in 19 points.

A three-ball from Joe Smith with 1:56 remaining cut the Olympiacos advantage to 71-66, but Greece international Spanoulis, the MVP of the 2012-13 Euroleague, answered with a shot from the arc as the visitors held on.

The two sides will meet in the second game of the Intercontinental Cup on Sunday.

"We expected a hard game because of the long travel and the lack of information about Pinheiros, and we needed some time to adapt at the beginning of the game, to defend better against the open shots," said Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas.

"But we improved by taking more rebounds and making more passes to find the best shot.

"We haven't had much time yet to practice but with each experience, the team is getting better and better."

Pinheiros scored 18 points off 22 Olympiacos turnovers.

The Reds dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Pinheiros, 39-21.

Olympiacos star Bryant Dunston had 11 points and and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Pinheiros got 23 points from Shamell Stallworth, the MVP of last year's FIBA Americas League Final Four.

Guard Paulinho Boracini, the captain of Pinheiros, said: "We have our first impression and now we know how to play the Intercontinental Cup. If we had kept defending as in the first half, we would have had more options in the game, but in the last quarter, the players of Olympiacos like Spanoulis went a step further and decided the game."

Watch the Intercontinental Cup live on livebasketball.tv

FIBA