By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Not only did Olympiacos Piraeus return to the EuroLeague playoffs after 2018, but completed its postseason comeback in the most festive manner imaginable for the fans in Peace and Friendship arena.
Olympiacos crushed archrival Panathinaikos Athens 101 – 73 at home to mathematically check its ticket for the quarterfinals, given that the results of the three Russian teams will likely be annulled in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine. This is the biggest margin ever in a EuroLeague derby between the two Greek powerhouses.
Six Olympiacos players finished in double figures in the highest-scoring game for their team this EuroLeague season so far. February MVP Sasha Vezenkov posted 16 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes, Kostas Sloukas added 16 points plus nine assists and Hassan Martin with Kostas Papanikolaou had 13 points apiece. Shaq McKissic delivered 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Moustapha Fall contributed 13 points, six rebounds and five assists while having an instrumental two-way presence in the first period that set the foundations for Olympiacos‘ triumph. “I never talk personally about players, but I think Moustapha gave us power from the beginning,” said Vezenkov.
Fall was dunking the ball at will, blocking shots and dropping dimes and the Reds were firing on all cylinders from early on to finish the quarter up 38 – 13 (you read that right). They continued in a similar fashion to grab a 50 – 18 lead 15 minutes into the match.
Panathinaikos, that was minus captain Ioannis Papapetrou and guard Stefan Jovic, was both unable to provide an answer for the hosts’ offensive prowess and defend sufficiently, losing the battle in every single area of the game for the larger part of the match. Daryl Macon Jr. scored 23 points, George Papagiannis had 18 points plus nine rebounds and Nemanja Nedovic dropped 16 points for the visiting team.
“We were not good throughout the match,” Papagiannis said. “We apologize to our fans and the club. This is not the image we should have. We must not give up. We have to correct our image.”
After falling behind by 32, Panathinaikos slowly began trimming the deficit and approached 60 – 46 thanks to a 2-13 run at the beginning of the second half. Vezenkov, that had been sidelined early with two quick fouls, took over with nine points and Sloukas added his own touch with playmaking and seven points of his own, to help bring the hosts up by 30 (83-53) once again.
Olympiacos wouldn’t give up its big lead this time and cruised for the rest of the match.