A tied series and off to the OAKA
Olympiacos defeated Panathinaikos 91-83 at a packed SEF and tied the finals series 1-1.
Our team started the game with passion and intensity, taking an early lead (7-2, 3’) thanks to Moustapha Fall, Thomas Walkup, and Sasha Vezenkov. Nervousness and rushed decisions on offense led to poor defensive transition and a 3-13 run for Panathinaikos (10-15, 6’). However, Olympiacos responded immediately. With Sasha Vezenkov, Tyler Dorsey, and Alec Peters hitting from the perimeter, and Shaquielle McKissic driving to the basket and joining the offensive equation, the 'red & whites' went on a 10-2 run to close the first quarter ahead 23-18.
With strong focus on defense and key contributions from Lee, McKissic, and Vezenkov, Olympiacos reached a double-digit lead for the first time (31-21, 14’). The 'greens' capitalized on some unforced errors by our team to cut the deficit to single digits (37-31), but Tyler Dorsey scored four straight points to set the halftime score at 41-31.
The third quarter began with Kostas Papanikolaou, Thomas Walkup, and Evan Fournier hitting from deep, igniting the crowd (50-32, 22’). Moustapha Fall pushed the lead to +18 (52-34), with Walkup maintaining the advantage (54-36, 24’). Panathinaikos responded with two three-pointers, but our captain and Fournier answered in kind (60-42, 26’). A spectacular block from Fall set up the French guard to extend the lead to +20 (62-42), though some careless mistakes allowed the visitors to cut it down (62-48, 28’), with the quarter ending at 66-55.
Errors and rushed offensive choices early in the final period led to missed fast breaks, with Panathinaikos narrowing the gap to single digits (70-62, 32’). McKissic and Dorsey pushed the lead back to +10 (74-64), but the visitors found points from beyond the arc (77-72, 36’). Our team stayed ahead (81-72, 37’), and Thomas Walkup hit a big three-pointer to make it 88-79 (39’). Alec Peters was calm at the free-throw line (91-83, 24”), the final defensive play was successful, and Olympiacos tied the finals series at 1-1. Next Wednesday (04/06) at OAKA, the team will aim to take the lead.
The quarters: 23-18, 41-31, 66-55, 91-83
