With five absent and three more as spectators, Olympiacos prevailed over PAOK (77-62) before the crucial matches against Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich.
Saturday night (27/1) was special for Olympiakos. The home match against PAOK for the 16th matchday of the Stoiximan Basket League was a “special situation” for Giorgos Bartzokas, however the Thessalonians proved to be a low hurdle for the Piraeus team who took the victory (77-62) before the devil’s week of the EuroLeague and the matches against Alba (home) and Bayern (away).
To 14-2 went the red and whites (7-1 at home and 7-1 away), who did not have the injured Nigel Williams-Goss (active, but not used), Giannouli Larentzakis, Filip Petrusev, Nikola Milutinov, Mustafa Fal and the Shaquille McKissick, Luke Shikma, Moses Wright not on major league roster. Alec Peters, Isaiah Kanan and Ignas Brazdeikis pulled most of the paddle in the execution part, Giorgos Tanoulis was the only tall one and despite his “empty” intervals, Olympiacos got the result comfortably.
PAOK fell to 7-9 (5-3 at home and 2-6 away), which however remains on course for the top six to avoid being involved in the playouts. Fotis Takianos opened the match with two centers (McNish – Alston) to hit the Piraeus in the racket, he saw a good face in the first and half of the third quarter, but he did not have the talent and depth to claim something more at the Peace Stadium and Friendship.
Olympiacos opened the match with Walkup, Kanan, Brazdeikis, Peters, Tanoulis and closed the first quarter with 12 points from 4/19 shots that gave PAOK the right to believe that it can claim more than one positive performance in the SEF. Everything changed in the second period. The Piraeus ran, shot well, had a 15-0 run and at halftime they had a 13-point lead, as they put up 30 in ten minutes with Peters reaching 14 (3/5 3-pointers).
The Thessalonians made their attempt in the third quarter as well. They were reduced to eight, played good defense, but had nothing more to offer. Papanikolaou made it 64-43 at the end of the third and from that point on the match had a procedural character with the crowd deifying the Olympiakos captain and his teammates.
BASKETBALL
January 27, 2024 10:30 p.m
THE REFEREES: Karpanos, Malamas, Lortos
THE DECADES: 12-14, 42-29, 64-43, 77-62
OLYMPIAKOS (Bartzokas): Walkup (0/3 shots, 2 rebounds, 5 assists), Kanan 17 (4/11 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Brazdeikis 17 (4/7 two-pointers, 2/4 three-pointers, 3/3 shots, 7 rebounds), Peters 21 (3/11 two-pointers, 4/8 three-pointers, 3/4 shots, 10 rebounds, 3 assists), Tanoulis 4 (2/4 two-pointers), Lountzis 3 (1), Mitrou-Long 4 (2/6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Papanikolaou 11 (4/7 2-pointers, 3/4 shots, 9 rebounds, 2 assists)
PAOK (Takianos): McNeese 10 (5/8 two-pointers, 6 rebounds0, Harrison 6 (1 three-pointer, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 errors), Schizas, Fredrickson 3 (1/9 shots, 7 rebounds, 9 assists), Alston 11 (4/8 2-pointers, 1/4 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers), Towns 14 (4/8 2-pointers, 6/7 shots, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), Gilmore 12 (3/ 3 two-pointers, 2/4 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Tsiakmas, Margaritis 3 (1), Arsenopoulos 3 (1), Skoulariotis, Sotiriou
Olympiacos team stats: 10/12 shots, 17/38 2-pointers, 11/31 3-pointers, 37 rebounds (26 defensive – 11 offensive), 20 assists, 11 steals, 1 block, 11 turnovers, 16 fouls
PAOK’s team statistics: 8/11 shots, 18/38 two-pointers, 6/22 three-pointers, 41 rebounds (29 defensive – 12 offensive), 17 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks, 20 errors, 19 fouls
The next games of the two teams: In the 17th matchday, Olympiacos will play against Prometheus in Patras, while PAOK will welcome Apollon Patras.