Olympiacos wrapped up its preseason friendlies with a win ahead of the new and challenging season in Greece and the EuroLeague!
On Sunday evening (September 13) the “Red-and-Whites” secured a hard-fought 77-72 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Nicosia, Cyprus, in the game that brought the international tournament “Neophytos Chandriotis” international tournament, with Giorgos Bartzokas’s team finishing with a perfect record in the two tough tournaments in which it participated on the Big Island and in Crete.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The game:
The game was fairly even at the start of the first quarter, with Maccabi Tel Aviv capitalizing on Olympiacos’s string of mistakes to score easy baskets on the fast break, as well as off offensive rebounds, to take a 9-6 lead in the 4th minute. Despite Giorgos Bartzokas’s instructions during the early timeout he called, the “Red-and-Whites” continued to throw away many of their offensive plays, racking up nine turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game! During that stretch, the Israelis, led by Sorokin and Ludberg, managed to go on a 10-0 run to take a +12 lead and make it 22-10—which was also the score at the end of the first quarter— during a very rough stretch for Olympiacos, with 10 turnovers and just 2 assists!
Despite the obvious improvement in ball movement and focus shown by Olympiacos’ players, the “people’s team” managed, thanks to Mandar and Colson, to build a 14-point lead (13-27) just two minutes into the second quarter. At that point, the Greek and European champions dramatically stepped up their offensive performance, adding the three-pointer to their arsenal. With Dorsey leading the way on offense with 11 points (3 three-pointers) and Vezenkov, McIntyre, and Ediai contributing valuable plays, the “Red-and-Whites,” with a sustained counterattack, not only chipped away at the deficit but also managed to take the lead, 35-33, in the 18th minute! Ultimately, the two teams headed to the locker rooms tied at 35-35 on a basket by Ludberg, with Olympiacos closing out the quarter with just one turnover and seven assists, a completely different picture compared to the first quarter.
The third quarter was the most composed and balanced of the game, with both teams going neck-and-neck on the scoreboard and, at times, producing nice plays with fast, fluid basketball. In the opening minutes of the quarter, Rayman and Ward stood out, with the former scoring 6 points for the Israelis and the latter adding 6 points, dishing out three assists and stealing two balls (!) to give Olympiacos a 51-50 lead in the 25th minute! Two beautiful baskets by Vezhenkov and Ward gave the Piraeus team a +5 lead (55-50) for the first time tonight one minute later, with Oded Katash’s team responding with a 10-2 run to take the lead at 57-60—which was also the quarter’s final score.
The close contest continued into the fourth and final quarter, where the Greek team, with a quick 5-0 run by McIntyre and Ediai, took a 62-60 lead, but Maccabi found its own answers and regained the lead at 67-64 in the 35th minute. At that point, Embi Ediay stepped up for Olympiacos, with the Senegalese forward sinking two spectacular dunks, a three-pointer from the corner, and setting up Hall’s dunk, as the “Red-and-Whites” took a 74-70 lead in the 38th minute! Mantar and Hall each scored in the next minute, with Olympiacos tightening up its defense in the closing moments to secure the victory with a final score of 77-72.
The quarter scores: 10-22, 35-35, 57-60, 77-72.
