An important win in France

Olympiacos bested Villeurbanne in France 85-73, for the 16th round of the Euroleague, getting back to winning. Moustapha Fall made a big performance (2p. 7 reb. 7 assists, 8 blocks), becoming the players with the most stops in Olympiacos' Euroleague history. 

The 'red & whites' tried to set the tempo from the start and with Alec Peters leading the offense, they got a +5 lead (7-13) at 6'. The French took advantage of the mistakes our team was making and tied the score 16-16, however, Isaiah Canaan and Kostas Papanikolaou found target from the 6.75m. and sent the difference to 7p. (18-25), by the end of the first quarter. With clearly better defense, Nigel Williams-Goss running the team smoothly, Shaquielle McKissic offering a scoring recital and Giannoulis Larentzakis playing a supporting role, Olympiacos absolutely controlled the game (31-43 at 16'), closing the first half at +12 (37-49).  

Bartzokas' players started the second half determined to finish the game and with Alec Peters taking center stage, the difference went to +18 (14-59) at 23'. However, they inexcusably collapsed on both ends of the floor, receiving an 11-0 streak (52-59) at 26'. Isaiah Canaan opened fire, scoring 7 consecutive points and with a three by Larentzakis, the difference went to 19p. (52-71) at 29'. The 'red & whites' though once again failed in their defensive duties, allowing Villeurbanne to close in to 10p. (61-71) at 32'. Olympiacos consistently maintained a two-digit margin up to 37' (+12, 69-81). In the two minutes that followed, our team once again had problems with scoring (73-81 at 39'), but thanks to its good defense and running a partial 4-0 at the end with Peters and Goss 'sealed' the win.

The quarters: 18-25, 37-49, 57-71, 73-85.

VILLEURBANNE

OLYMPIACOS