EUROLEAGUE – Quarter-Final ties all square after road teams win away from home [video]

MADRID (Euroleague) - The road teams reigned on Thursday night in the Euroleague with Power Electronics Valencia, Panathinaikos, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Montepaschi Siena all winning to level their quarter-finals at one game apiece.

Valencia, edged out 71-65 in their opener at Real Madrid on Tuesday, prevailed 81-75 in Game 2 with point guard Omar Cook putting on an inspirational performance in the rowdy atmosphere of the Caja Magica.

Cook made all five of his shots from three-point range and handed out six assists.

Madrid killed Valencia on the boards in the opener but on Thursday, each side had 31 rebounds.

Dusko Savanovic was the key man in this part of the game for Valencia.

He led all players with 10 rebounds and also scored 14 points.

Cook, a native New Yorker, is best known for being a pass-first, combative point guard who plays tough defense and has a penchant for coming up with big steals.

With Valencia trailing by nine points in the second quarter and needing someone to spark them offensively, Cook answered the call.

He buried back-to-back three-pointers in what was the turning point of the game.

"I took three shots last game," Cook said to FIBA.com.

"I figured tonight I had to be a little bit more aggressive because I watched the film and saw how they were playing against me."

"He was big for us tonight," said Valencia's Jeremy Richardson, who was three of four from behind the arc himself and had 15 points.

"I don't think we would have won if he hadn’t been. I'm just glad he had the confidence to pull up and knock 'em down."

In Friday's El Mundo, Cook was singled out as the game-winner.

"Omar Cook was a giant and not just because he was five of five from three-point range," the newspaper said.

Cook defended, ran the offense and even took an elbow to the mouth which left him with a swollen, bloody lip after the contest.

It was his clutch shooting that everyone was talking about after Game 2.

"If I don't take shots," he said, "it's not going to help me get assists and it's not going to help my team so I just wanted to be aggressive offensively tonight."

Montepaschi rise from the dead

No one would have expected Montepaschi Siena to win Game 2 at Olympiacos after Tuesday's performance when they scored just nine first-half points in an 89-41 hammering by the Reds.

But Simone Pianigiani's Italian club bounced back and won 82-65 with Malik Hairston's 19 points and 11 rebounds leading the way.

"We were ready to prove things after what happened two nights earlier and our 48-point defeat," Hairston said.

"But, again this win could not mean anything is we don’t win the next one at home.

“We have to work hard, stay calm and concentrated and prepare for the next game."

Olympiacos played without Milos Teodosic for the second straight time in the series.

Panathinaikos almost upset defending champions Regal Barcelona in Game 1 but failed, yet in Game 2 they won 75-71.

Romain Sato's 18 points and Dimitris Diamantidis' 17 paced the Greens, who were nine of 17 from three-point range.

Sato hit four of five shots from long range and Diamantidis was three of six.

Juan Carlos Navarro scored 19 in defeat.

"We have to take care of business at home and have to keep fighting, that is the main key to winning the series," Sato said.

Maccabi scraped an 83-81 victory at Caja Laboral with Greece international Sofoklis Schortsanitis pouring in a game-high 22 points.

Big Sofo was 10 of 15 from the floor while David Blu was Maccabi's weapon from long range, drilling four of eight three-pointers.

He was the only player to score from the arc for David Blatt's team.

Caja Laboral led 46-38 at half-time but weren't able to press home the advantage after the break.

Dusko Ivanovic's team lost despite hitting 10 of 20 shots from behind the arc.

Esteban Batista and Fernando San Emeterio scored 17 points apiece and Mirza Teletovic had 16.

The four Game 3s will be played on Tuesday.

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