After he “strangled” her with his defense Baskonia, The Olympic left with the victory (72-62) from Vitoria and going up to 13-9, remained strong on the playoffs.
The “red and whites” were in control for most of the match, with Alec Peters being a big “headache” and holding the Basques (60-60), until 37 ‘. There, Bartzokas’s players with their formidable defenses Woocap and their baskets Dorsey and Vezenkov made the crucial 10-0 (60-70), which secured them the pink card.
Top o Dorsey with 17 points and was followed by Vezenkov with 15p.
On the other hand, Basconia retreated to 7-16, by Alec Peters to be the top scorer with 18 points.
The match
Olympiakos started with Fal, Vezenkov, Papanikolaou, Dorsey and Wokap. Through their excellent defense, with multiple steals and proper movement of the ball in the attack, the “red and whites” were ahead 16-5, in the first six minutes. Piraeus maintained the +11 (7-18) until 7 ‘, as in the last minutes they were silent aggressively, having misplaced choices, with the Basques on the other hand “hitting” from the periphery and making 6-0, for 13 -18 of the first period.
Olympiakos had bad choices in the attack and slow returns to the defense at the beginning of the second half, with Baskonia making an individual score of 8-2 and taking the lead (21-20), in 14 ‘. With Sloukas and Vezenkov, Piraeus took the lead again (23-27), but despite the failure of the Basques, Bartzokas’s players made continuous mistakes, they had bad choices in the attack and so the difference did not widen. With Inok, the hosts equalized (29-29) and Sloukas’s three-pointer made it 29-32 in the first half.
Through its defense and Wokap and Vezenkov, Olympiakos went to +8 (29-37) at the beginning of the second half. However, mistakes and bad returns to the defense followed again, with Baskonia approaching the basket (37-39), in 25 ‘. The reaction of Piraeus came with Vezenkov and Fal for +7 (37-44), but the defense did not have the… antidote for Alec Peters and so the Basques stayed close (44-47). However, in the last two minutes, Bartzokas’s players tightened defensively and with Papanikolaou’s three-pointer, they closed the third period at +6 (44-50).
Completely asleep, Olympiakos entered the fourth period with cheap mistakes, but not Giedraitis, who was “hot” and with three-pointers signed Baskonia’s 9-0 for +3 (53-50), in 32 ‘. Then, the “red and whites” reacted and with Vezenkov went to +5 (55-60), with Alec Peters equalizing again (60-60), in 37 ‘. There, Bartzokas’s players made tremendous defenses with steals and Dorsey to execute escaped at +10 (60-70), at 1:30 ” before the end. In the end, Olympiakos managed and took the victory with the final 62-72.
MVP: The trio of Wokap, Dorsey and Vezenkov who “cleaned” in the last minutes. With the American stealing balls and handing them to the other two, Olympiakos made the decisive series at the end and got the victory.
The number that made the difference: Undoubtedly the 11/21 three-pointers that Piraeus had, which is an exceptional percentage – especially for away games – and of course the 13 steals they made.
The ten minutes: 13-18, 29-32, 44-50, 62-72
See here the film of the match
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Source: Sport-fm
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.
