A dominant performance in Pilaia

Olympiacos got an easy win in Pilaia, besting PAOK 90-60, for the 7th day of the Basket League.

With Sasha Vezenkov being the protagonist of the offense, Olympiacos completely dominated PAOK in the first quarter of the game. The guests were focused on their defensive game and really impressive with their offense, taking the lead early on (6-15, 6'). The hosts tried to stay close to the score with long range shots, whithout though causing problems for our team (9-23, 8') that closed the quarter with 11 assists and at +16 (13-29). The outlook remained the same into the second quarter also (19-35, 13'), with the Piraeus team completely controlling the game (19-42, 16') and with Moses Wright having taken center stage. The hosts were unable to follow the offensive tempo or find any solutions in the back court, with half-time ending with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Luca Vildoza from downtown to make the score 26-53.

In the third quarter - with Sasha Vezenkov remaining in the bench due to a problem with his toe - it was Kostas Pananikolaou's turn to lead the offense. With 8 consecutive points of the score margin opened even higher (28-63, 23'), with the guests continuing with good cooperations and defensive focus. A 3-pointer by the captain sent the lead to +42 (33-75, 28'), with PAOK finding some score at the end of the third quarter which was marked by a 43-77 score. In the final quarter, nothing practically changed, with our team having absolute control of the game (46-84, 33') slowing down in the last 5' minutes and hence allowing PAOK to somewhat shrink the difference (56-84, 37'). With 2:51'' on the clock, coach Bartzokas sent the 17-year-old Giorgos Bourneles on the floor, who made his professional debut. The young guard also scored his first bucket that made the score 50-86, and dished an assist for Giannoulis Larentzakis who scored for the final 60-90.

The quarters: 13-29, 26-53, 43-77, 60-90