Undeterred by the injury problems, Olympiacos achieved its 5th consecutive victory, with the “victim” this time being the complete Virtus Bologna in the SEF: 74-69, half time 37-46, in the adoration of 12,000 fans.
The Italians took advantage of Olympiacos’ absences and stepped on the gas in the first half of the match, when they led 24-32 and 34-46. Kostas Papanikolaou put Olympiakos back in the game with three pointers, and the amazing defense sparked a 13-0 run, with which the “red and whites” took the lead: 47-46 and then 55-48, with Mustafa Fal as the star. Shaquille McKissic made it 68-57 with a three-pointer and the difference never fell below 4 points (71-67), despite Olympiakos’ missed shots.
Now Olympiacos has 17 wins and 11 losses and is tied with Virtus, but also with Fener, which defeated Real in Madrid. In the first game, in Bologna, the Italians won 69-67.
Olympiacos lined up without Tomas Walkup, who was injured in the league match against Peristeri. Also absent were Giannoulis Larentzakis and Nikolas Miloutinov. Nigel Williams-Goss returned to score 6 points, while Naz Mitrou-Long struggled without scoring.
Kostas Papanikolaou was the leading player for Olympiakos with 16 points, while Isaiah Kanaan added 12 and Mustafa Fal 11. Giorgos Bartzokas also used Luntzis, McKissick 8, Brazdeikis 2, Peters 8, Petrusef 7, Wright 4.
Toko Sengelia played injured and scored 15 points for Luca Banki’s team. Daniel Hackett scored 10 against his old club and Bryant Dunston added 2. Virtus also scored 10, Miki 7.
Panathinaikos, which remains in the top four with a record of 17-10, will host bottom-of-the-line Villeurbanne on Friday night at OAKA (9:15 p.m.). The leader Real is at 22-6, or Barcelona at 19-9, the third Monaco at 18-10.
Next Thursday, the “derby of the ages” will be held in Faliro. In the game Monaco-Red Stars 98-80, tonight, Mike James moved to the top of the list of leading scorers in Euroleague history, passing Vassilis Spanoulis.
#OlympiacosVirtus #Consolation #basketball
