He broke out against PAOK and… Olympiacos forgot Kaunas

Part of his… wounds from the lost final of the Euroleague “healed” in Pylaia Olympic.

The “red and white” did not leave much room for him PAOKprevailing comfortably 97-77for 2-0 in the semi-finals of the Basket League and are one win away from the finals.

The first scorer for the Piraeus team was Sloukas with 23 points, also having 8 assists. Another 17p. added the Vezenkovwhile a double-double was done by Fal (15p., 11rb.) and Boloboi (10p., 11rb.).

From the “double-headed of the north”, stood out the Riley and Franke with 27 p. and 18p. respectively.

The third match of the series is scheduled for next Sunday (28/5, 19:05), at CHEF.

The match

PAOK started with Renfro, Margariti, Saloustro, Franke and Riley, while Olympiacos started with Fal, Vezenkov, Papanikolaou, Luntzi and Walkap. The Dutchman started “hot” and the home team had the lead (8-5), with Vezenkov and Fal responding with a 7-0 run for the “red and whites”, who went to +4 (8-12). The home team countered with defense and baskets in the open court for their own 8-0 run that sent them up +4 (16-12) at the 5′ mark. Then, the Piraeus took advantage of the offensive rebounds to overtake (16-17), with the pace of the match remaining high and the guests closing the first period in front (21-24), thanks to a three-pointer by Slukas at the end.

The start of the second quarter was quite “hot” with a “cockfight” between Franke and Larentzakis. This helped Olympiacos more, who not only maintained their lead, but with McKissick and Boloboi went to +11 (26-37), at 14′. PAOK was still struggling offensively, with Sluka’s three-pointers sending the Piraeus team to +16 (29-45), at 16′. With the return of Franke, the “two-headed man of the north” found a score, but Barzoka’s players maintained their own excellent pace, for +20 (34-54), at 18′. In the remaining time, Olympiacos threw … turns, with Riley shaping the 41-56 of the first half.

Franke and Riley took advantage of Olympiakos’ sluggish start in the second half, with PAOK scoring 6-1 (47-57) in the first two minutes. Then, the “red and white” found a rhythm through their defense and responded with Vezenkov and Walkap with a 2-12 of their own, for the new +20 (49-69), in the 25th minute. Barzoka’s players were in control of the match with Sluka and McKissick returning and sending the difference to +24 (51-75), at 28′. In the final minutes, the guests relaxed and Hunts fell (61-79) at the end of the third period.

Olympiakos’ unanswered mistakes gave PAOK a 6-0 run by Hunts and Seibert (67-79) in the first two minutes of the fourth period. Afterwards, the pace of the match dropped sharply, with the “red and whites” however fully controlling the situation thanks to their defense and with polyphony in the attack, escaping to +21 (71-92), in the 38th minute. The last minutes were procedural, with Olympiakos winning the final 77-97.

The quarters: 21-24, 41-56, 61-79, 77-97

See the match statistics here

Watch the film of the match here