Him his first title in six years celebrated on Sunday night (20/02) o Olympicprevailing 81-73 of Panathinaikos in an exciting and full of emotions Cup final in Heraklion, Crete!
With defense for … seminar in the last period, the “red and whites” managed to reach the overthrow, and while Panathinaikos was even ahead with twelve points difference (59-47) in the middle of the third period.
The coach of the podium records at www.sportfm.gr everything that judged the final of the Greek Cup…
The low figure of Olympiacos and the… invisible heroes: The choice of Giorgos Bartzokas to play with a low figure in the fourth period, was a catalyst for the outcome of the final, thus tilting the scales in favor of the “red and whites”.
With Hassan Martin on the floor instead of Mustafa Fal and the fast legs of Wookup and McKissick in positions “1” and “3” respectively, Olympiakos acquired the necessary speed and toughness needed with intense pressure in defense and attack to turn “Switch” and do the come-back.
Dorsey and Venzekov led the offensive part, with difficult and big shots in the last ten minutes of the match – especially by the Greek-American guard – helping the Piraeus the most.
George Bartzokas saw Wokap and McKissick evolving into… invisible heroes of Olympiacos. The former offered good defenses and “smart” attacks on the other side of the floor, while Sakil McKissick added energy and fighting spirit in defense and attack.
Somehow, Olympiakos not only scored 23 points in the last ten minutes, but kept Panathinaikos only at 6, without even having a shot inside the field.
Fatigue bent Panathinaikos and Nedovic: The truth is that Panathinaikos was better than Olympiakos for most of the first three quarters, and especially in the second and third period.
With the trio of Nedovic, Papagianni and White in good condition, the “greens” released energy and runs on both ends of the floor.
As time passed, however, and with the game leading to more psysical situations, the whole of Dimitris Priftis ran out of strength.
Indicatively to mention that Papagiannis played in almost 26 minutes, White in 32:28 ‘, while the 30-year-old Serbian guard of the “greens” was on the floor for 33:46’. In fact, Nedovic – who became the top scorer of the final – had 19 points in the first half, succeeding in the replay only 4 (5/21 on the field).
The counter-attack of Olympiakos in the fourth period, the fatigue of the “greens” and the lack of a clear mind, combined with perhaps the disappointment that may have existed, led the “clover” to its worst ten minutes of this season, with only 6 points , all from shots…
MVP, Tyler Dorsey and “double” Vezenkov: Two of the πυ central pillars of Olympiacos’ success were definitely Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov.
The 26-year-old guard of the “red and whites” was the one who with difficult and big shots took the situation on him when the ball “burned” in the last minutes.
Despite the fact that Giorgos Bartzokas had him… forgotten on the edge of the bench in the first half, the explosive guard found a rhythm in the replay, entering the atmosphere of the match for good. After all, 13 of the total 21 points he scored in the final came in the last 20 minutes.
As for Sasha Vezenkov now, the 26-year-old forward was a trademark for Olympiacos throughout the match.
The Bulgarian left his… lungs on the floor playing a total of 37:06 minutes, playing throughout the second half!
With 18 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and countless fights under the two rackets, Vezenkov was the “soul” of the “red and whites”.
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