“Stuck” in Polis, but Olympiacos left promises

Olympiacos entered the Euroleague with the… left. Giorgos Bartzokas’ team was defeated much more difficult than the final 82-71 at the “Ulker Sports Hall” shows by the Fenerbahcebut she showed her “teeth” for a long period of the match and made great promises in view of the sequel.

After a “sluggish” start, Piraeus had an excellent second quarter and went into halftime with lead (32-36). Olympiacos remained in front for most of it third periodbut some “cheap” mistakes and several missed rebounds gave Fener the right to regain control of the game.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, o Olympic “stuck” offensively at a very critical point in the match, being absent for about four minutes, resulting in 65-65 to become 73-65 for the hosts. From that point, the “red and whites” had no other reaction and finally (very strong this year) Fener took the victory.

The leader of the match for Fener was a former “red and white”. THE Wade Baldwin scored 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, while 15 points were scored by Nigel Hayes-Davies and 10 points with 9 rebounds o Bonzie Coulson.

From Olympiakos, the fighter had 15 points and 7 rebounds Moses Wrightbut the leader was Shaquille McKissick with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. 11 points for “quiet” Sasha Vezenkovstayed low o Evan Fournier with 5 points in 23 minutes of participation.

The match

Fener entered… furioza with him as the protagonist Marjanovic who made consecutive baskets for 4-0. Goss responded with Olympiakos’ first two baskets, trailing (6-4), before Hayes-Davis opened his own tally to make it 8-4. Baldwin with a lucky shot increased the home team’s lead even more (10-4), while Fournier reduced it with two shots. Kem Birch nailed it with what he entered (12-6), but o Tyler Dorsey was fouled on a 3-pointer and made his shots (12-9). Vezenkov brought Olympiacos within a point (12-11) and Hall answered with two shots (14-11). The two teams exchanged a few more shots (15-13), with Zagars to put the last points for 17-13 of the first quarter.

All the way??#FlightTime I @TurkishAirlines I @FBBasketbol pic.twitter.com/TO9wuxBq5f

— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) October 4, 2024

At the beginning of the second period, Birch scored with a board (19-13) and brought Fener to +6. The Turks continued strongly with Baldwin making the first three-pointer of the match (24-15) for the biggest difference so far. Olympiacos responded with a Petrusev basket from close range, while McKissick scored on a perfectly executed fumble for 24-19. The American forward scored five straight points, including an improbable 3-pointer at the end of time (26-24), while giving an impressive assist to Wright who nailed the tie (28-28). The guests went ahead with a steal and a basket by Walkup (30-32), but Gudurich immediately tied the game with a layup (32-32). THE Wright hit a hook (32-34), while the half ended with a score of 32-36 in favor of Olympiakos.

Shaquielle from WAY DOWNTOWN at the end of the shot clock????#MotorolaMagicMoments l @Moto l @Olympiacos_BC pic.twitter.com/XxJhTrCMF0

— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) October 4, 2024

In the second part, Vezenkov quickly found a long range goal for 34-39. Tyler Dorsey made a basket and a foul (36-42) for Olympiakos’ biggest margin, but Fener responded with a quick 6-0 run to tie the game (42-42) after cheap mistakes by Piraeus. The Turks continued and extended their individual score with a 3-pointer by Colson (47-42), with Wright ending this good period with a long shot of his own (47-45) and then scoring in front of Marjanovic (49-47). Fournier made a good defense and gave a nice assist to “Moses” for 51-49, with the derby continuing between the two teams. The Frenchman scored an improbable three-pointer and gave a new lead to Olympiakos (52-54), who also escaped with +4 thanks to Vezenkov’s shots (52-56), but the Lantern came close again to the point after three offensive rebounds and Meli’s three-pointer (55-56). After another missed rebound after a shot, o Coulson wrote for Fener 57-56 in the third quarter.

???? Le beau service d’un certain N°94 pour Moses Wright qui degumme le cercle ??@Olympiacos_BC x @EvanFourmizz x #SKWEEKLive pic.twitter.com/uOZLXmMsDm

— SKWEEK (@skweektv) October 4, 2024

At the start of the fourth period, Sanli scored five straight points for the home team 62-56, with Petrusev to answer with five of his own for 62-61! Hall found the target in a shot from 6.75m. for Fener, but the Serbian center made a foul shot again for 65-63, although he missed the shot. McKissick ran in, took shots and put them in to tie the game (65-65), while Baldwin answered with three of his own to make it 68-65. Colson hit a lucky 3-pointer from the corner (71-65), while Hayes-Davis scored from close range for 73-65. THE Vezenkov with McKissick they fell (75-69), but Hayes-Davis made a very difficult three-pointer and a foul (79-69), with a fair amount of luck. THE McKissick fell by two shots (79-71), but the Fener forward gave Olympiakos the free throw with a layup for 81-71.

The quarters: 17-13, 32-36, 57-56, 82-71

Detailed match statistics here.