AS Monaco turned a lot of heads in its EuroLeague opener by relying on tenacious defense and a quartet of veterans to lead the way to victory over Panathinaikos.

Experience, defense helped Monaco to a magical opener

Counting on as many as nine Turkish Airlines Euroleague rookies on its roster, and having just two players back from last season, reigning 7DAYS EuroCup champion AS Monaco faced a tough challenge against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens in its the 2021-2022 season opener. But neither the lack of experience nor the lack of team chemistry stopped AS Monaco from making its Euroleague debut a forever-lasting memory.

"Before the game, we had huge excitement. We had to take the pressure under control, mentally," recognized AS Monaco head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic right after the game. And his team did, as Monaco started with a 5-0 run and never trailed for the rest of the game, claiming a convincing 75-63 win over the six-time Euroleague champions.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">✅ 𝖴𝗇𝖾 𝟣𝖾̀𝗋𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗈𝗂𝗋𝖾 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝖾𝗇 <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>, 𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝖿𝖺𝗇𝗌 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖻𝗅𝖾́𝗌, 𝗎𝗇 𝖼𝗈𝖺𝖼𝗁 𝖾𝗍 𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝗃𝗈𝗎𝖾𝗎𝗋𝗌 𝗋𝖺𝗏𝗂𝗌 🤩<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EveryGameMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EveryGameMatters</a> <a href="https://t.co/qv8AokJvyD">pic.twitter.com/qv8AokJvyD</a></p>&mdash; AS Monaco Basket (@ASMonaco_Basket) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket/status/1443672965737066503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"In the game, my players played very smart, my staff did a great job analyzing Panathinaikos, especially on defense, even though we had not much time to prepare for the game. Maybe I feel surprised by how we won the game. I wouldn’t say easily, but this way," Mitrovic said.

On the court, the hosts found the right answers from Euroleague veterans like Mike James (31 years old, eight Euroleague seasons), Danilo Andjusic (30, four Euroleague seasons), Donatas Motiejunas (31, three Euroleague seasons) and Leo Westermann (29, 11 Euroleague seasons). The four combined for 46 out of Monaco's 75 points - and more than half (53) of the team's total PIR (89).

"We didn’t have stress, we didn’t feel nervous, because we have a team in which there are a bunch of players with a lot of experience playing at this level. We prepared ourselves to be ready to play at this level," Andjusic confessed after the win. The guard shined with an outstanding performance of a Euroleague career-high 17 points in just 14 minutes.

His great offensive contribution was not what Andjusic had in mind when asked about the key for the victory, though: “Even last season, when Monaco won the EuroCup, it was known as a great defensive team, so that’s what we try to do this season: to make easy points in transition coming from that defense and share the ball. I think the guys did a great job of that tonight and that’s our signature, what we want to do every game."

The numbers confirmed what Adjusic said, as Panathinaikos struggled offensively all game long and finished with 23-of-50 shooting on two-pointers (46%) and 4-of-20 on threes (20%).

"We had a lack of creation, not good passing, sometimes we were very static and unfortunately when we created open shots, we didn’t make them. We have to help ourselves on offense because on defense I have no complaints, but you have to play on both ends”, recognized Panathinaikos head coach Dimitris Pfitris.

Enjoying a 22-point difference midway through the fourth quarter, Monaco had the opportunity of celebrating a historic win much sooner than the sound of the final buzzer.

"We got a nice win over a big team and, you know, it’s always good to start the season with a win. We played well today, everybody can share the ball and it was a great team effort. That was a good win to have," former Panathinaikos player James added.

Andjusic went further and also revealed his optimism about the future: "Of course, it’s a big thing for everybody, for the club, and I’m glad that we got the win on opening night. We are a new team, all the team is new and we still need time to get to know each other, to get better, but we can achieve good things if we keep playing like this."

AS Monaco v Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (2021-09-30T17:00:00.000Z)

Zenit adds value to elite roster: Season Preview

After making it deep into the playoffs last year, Zenit St Petersburg starts fresh with the same goal and valuable pieces like Jordan Mickey and Jordan Loyd to help make it happen. 

ALBA Berlin announced that it has signed German national team big man Oscar da Silva to a three-year deal. da Silva (2.06 meters, 23 years old) finished last season with MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, for which he posted 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17 games between the regular season and the playoffs. Before that he played four seasons at college basketball at Stanford University. He averaged 18.8 points and 6.8 rebounds as a senior last season before joining Ludwigsburg at the end of the college season. He was named to the Pac-12 Conference first team in both 2020 and 2021 and to the all-defensive team in 2021. A native of Munich, de Silva has played for Germany at multiple youth categories, too. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Wir freuen uns über ein weiteren deutschen Nationalspieler im ALBA-Kader: Herzlich Willkommen, Oscar da Silva!<br><br>Der 23-jährige Power Forward/Center wechselt aus Ludwigsburg nach Berlin und hat bei ALBA einen Dreijahresvertrag erhalten. Oscar wird mit der Trikotnummer 1 auflaufen. <a href="https://t.co/cldfL5BFHb">pic.twitter.com/cldfL5BFHb</a></p>&mdash; ALBA BERLIN (@albaberlin) <a href="https://twitter.com/albaberlin/status/1443588257388716047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

ALBA signs da Silva for 3 years

A warm and wonderful welcome to the earliest opening day ever for a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season!

No one wanted to wait until October to get the party started, so it had to happen on the last day of September.

For basketball lovers, anticipation is always sweet this time of year. Their new teams are going under the spotlight, the ball is being bounced and shot in earnest again, and the unpredictability that reigns in the EuroLeague means that every team is a potential champion right now.

But today is different for one major reason.

In greater or lesser proportion – but in full voice no matter their numbers – the greatest fans in the world are back.

More precisely, they are back where they belong, at the center of our sport, projecting their energy onto the playing court and boosting their teams to greater heights.

The most passionate basketball supporters anywhere are the special sauce of the European game, and starting today, they will be mixed back into a magic recipe that makes the EuroLeague so irresistible.

Opening night is the perfect moment to remember the ultimate truth about the EuroLeague: every game counts.

But it was just three seasons ago that one team reached the playoffs and another missed them by just 3 points between them that would not have changed the outcome of either of their games that season.

So beyond every game, every play counts, too.

Keep that in mind while enjoying tonight's first Game of the Week between AX Armani Exchange Milan and visiting CSKA Moscow, two giants of world basketball who last met in last spring's third-place game.

Two all-time great coaches, Milan's Ettore Messina and CSKA's Dimitris Itoudis, know that as well as anyone. They demand nothing less than all-out intensity on every play and their teams reflect that ethos. They last met in the third-place game in Cologne last spring after each of their teams had come a shot short in the semis. This season will be all about taking their teams one or two steps higher.

Milan stuck with a core of stars while transforming the power forward position, with Nicolo Melli and Konstantinos Mitoglou, and bringing in veteran newcomers Jerian Grant, Devon Hall and Troy Daniels (who starts the season injured). This team should be tougher and faster while still banking on the experience of former champions such as Kyle Hines, Sergio Rodriguez and Luigi Datome.

CSKA changed less but in many ways changed bigger, welcoming back superstar Alexey Shved and adding prime-time swingman Marius Grigonis. But CSKA also gets back center Nikola Milutinov, whose mid-season injury last winter ended his MVP bid and hurt his team in the Final Four. They are perfect complements to standout standard-bearers like Will Clyburn, Tornike Shengelia, Daniel Hackett, Nikita Kurbanov and Johannes Voigtmann.

Milutinov torching a EuroLeague all-time record with 16 offensive rebounds on Milan's floor before he was injured last season. No doubt, that was is one reason why the Italians hired Mitoglou, one of the best young rebounders on the continent. Keeping Milutinov at a rebounding total of mere mortals tonight will be a team job that, if Milan can do it, ups the chance for a win but also sows a seed for the rest of the season.

That, of course, is the other thing about opening night, setting the tone. It will be a jubilant tone beforehand at the sight of fans filling seats across EuroLeague arenas. It will be a respectful one when the late great Dusan Ivkovic is honored before tipoff.

But once the basketball goes up, it will be the EuroLeague game in all its glory, no more waiting, party started.

Game of the Week: Let's get this party started!

Olympiacos adds experience, keeps stars: Season Preview

Olympiacos Piraeus brought in experienced players such as Thomas Walkup and Tyler Dosey to complement its returning stars: Kostas Sloukas, Sasha Vezenkov and Georgios Printezis.

Marquee signings, happy returns in Zalgiris: Season Preview

Zalgiris Kaunas landed intriguing talents like Emmanuel Mudiay and Josh Nebo while bringing back Mantas Kalnietis and Edgaras Ulanovas to load up a deep, tough roster for the challenges ahead.

Fenerbahce builds stellar starting five: Season Preview

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul signed Pierria Henry and Achille Polonara, but also kept DyShawn Pierre, Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely to put together a truly stellar starting five. Watch out!

Panathinaikos's offensive problems were obvious, as the Greens barely reached 60 points. It was even more significant when it came to outside shooting. They made 4 out of 20 attempts (20%). Monaco made 9 of 21 (42.8%).

No threes, no party

The reigning 7DAYS EuroCup champion enjoyed a magical night on their EuroLeague premiere. They showed no mercy against mighty Panathinaikos and dominated the game from end to end. Mike James got the hosts going with a dunk and a three-pointer as Monaco never trailed for the 40 minutes.