Resident of… peak remains the Olympic!
After the mediocre start and despite his loss Kostas Sloukas in the secondthe “red and white” won 95-89 the Maccabi Tel Aviv in the crowded SEF and they went up to 14-7which keeps them in first place in the standings.
Top o Vezenkov with 23 points and 9 rebounds, with McKissick to add 13p. and Papanikolaou 10p. Also excellent Walkup with 9 points and 12 assists, with Lorentzakis to have 8p. and 9 rebounds.
On the other hand, the “group of the people” retreated to 11-10with Sorkin leading the way with 23 points and 9 rebounds.
The match
Olympiacos started with Fal, Vezenkov, Papanikolaou, Kanan and Walkap. The two teams were together in the first two minutes (8-7), with the “red and whites” then being tragically wrong (even in the shots), while on the other hand, Maccabi found a rhythm outside the 6.75m. and with an 11-0 run he went to +10 (8-18), at 5′. Walkup’s shots cut short the Israeli streak, with Colson’s three-pointer sending them to +11 (10-21), at 6′. From that point on, Piraeus tightened up defensively, forcing the visitors to make mistakes and getting enough help from Black and Sluka who came off the bench to score individually 14-2 for the lead (24-23). However, the end of the first period found them back thanks to Sorkin’s shots (24-25).
With a significantly improved defense and forwards Black and McKissick, Olympiacos entered the second period with individual scores of 9-2 for +6 (33-27), in the 14th minute. The “red and whites” had the lead with Maccabi staying close thanks to the three-pointers (39-34), until 16′, while at that point Slukas left with an injury. Despite everything, Bartzoka’s players pressed even harder on defense and putting out tremendous energy on the floor with Vezenkov, McKissick and Larentzaki, they went on a 12-0 run that sent them to +17 (51-34), at 19′. The only change in the remaining time was a Sorkin basket that made it 51-36 in the first half.
Vezenkov and Kanan sent Olympiakos to +16 (56-40) at the beginning of the second half. Afterwards, the “red and whites” had an offensive rhythm, but Sorkin and DiBartolomeo did a lot of “damage” in the defense and so Maccabi dropped the difference to a single digit value (64-55), in the 24th minute. With some defenses, the Piraeus went on a 5-0 run for +14 (69-55), however, the missed rebounds gave the guests the opportunity to reduce (69-61), at 29′. Vezenkov’s shots gave a temporary … breather, but Sorkin reduced even more at the end of the third period (71-64).
Olympiacos was very nervous in the attack at the beginning of the fourth period, with Sorkin and DiBartolomeo continuing the “damage” and reducing the score even more (73-69), at 33′. There, a three-pointer by Peters was… a spark for the “red and whites”, who made a total run of 7-0 for +11 (80-69), in the 34th minute. Then, the Piraeus lost their rhythm and Baldwin dropped the difference (82-74). The reaction came from Larentzakis and Peters with their big shots to “wake up” Olympiacos, increasing the difference to +15 (89-64), at 37′. A mini “blackout” gave the opportunity to score three three-pointers in a row (89-83), with Walkup stopping the streak with his own shot from 6.75m. (92-83) and the victory coming with the final 95-89.
The quarters: 24-25, 51-36, 71-64, 95-89
See the match statistics here
Watch the film of the match here
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
