A "thundering" Olympiacos despite the absences
Olympiacos dominated Panionios at the SEF, winning 95-64 in the final game of the regular season of the Basket League, despite playing with 'half' their roster.
Despite a long list of absentees, with Nikola Milutinov suffering from bone edema in his knee and expected to be out for at least two weeks, Luca Vildoza suffering a left hamstring strain also expected to keep him out for two weeks, Evan Fournier dealing with an ankle contusion and not playing in today's game, Giannoulis Larentzakis suffering from gastroenteritis and unavailable, as well as the injured Nigel Williams-Goss and Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos entered the game serious and focused, and was never threatened, securing a comfortable victory.
Naz Mitrou-Long scored the first 5 points for the 'red & whites' (5-0), and Olympiacos quickly took control of the game (7-2, 2'). The team was soon joined by Sasha Vezenkov, the top scorer of the regular season in the Stoiximan GBL and the first Olympiacos player to achieve this after 15 years (the last being Josh Childress in the 2009-10 season). Vezenkov had a fantastic collaboration with Kostas Papanikolaou that excited the crowd (11-3, 5'). Due to the absences, Giorgos Bartzokas shuffled the lineup early, playing with a big-man duo of Vezenkov and Peters from the 7th minute and moving Shaquielle McKissic to the point guard position from 8' on. Tyler Dorsey provided offensive solutions, and the period ended 22-9.
Panionios had a brief 4-0 run at the start of the second quarter, but it was interrupted by a dunk from Mustapha Fall (24-13, 13') off an assist from Vezenkov. Olympiacos continued to dominate, with Alec Peters leading offensively (29-15, 14'), even stealing the ball and dunking on a fast break to the crowd's delight (33-19)! With about 6 minutes remaining in the first half, Giorgos Bourneleas and later Stefanos Spartalis entered the game, and the 'red & whites' went on a 9-0 run, extending the lead to 21 points (40-19, 18'), finishing the first half with a 23-point lead (48-25).
Not much changed in the third quarter, with Olympiacos maintaining a 20-point lead (50-27, 23'), showing offensive pluralism and seriousness in their defensive duties (58-34, 26'). Vezenkov, McKissic, and Peters had impressive teamwork (62-37), while Mitrou-Long continued to hit shots from the perimeter, with the period ending 68-45. McKissic, Vezenkov, and Peters pushed the lead to +30 in the first minute of the fourth quarter (75-45), and the game became procedural. Mitrou-Long kept firing from beyond the arc, as did McKissic, while Peters continued to push the tempo (90-51). With 2:25'' left on the clock, Theodoros Pavlopoulos entered the game, and the team finished with three teenagers (Giorgos Bourneleas and Stefanos Spartalis) on the court, securing a comfortable win (95-64).
The quarters: 22-9, 48-25, 68-45, 95-64
