Premiere with a 100-point tally
Olympiacos made a winning start in their Basket League campaign defeating Maroussi 100-81 at the Agios Thomas gym.
Our team came out strong and took an early 5-point lead after a three-pointer by Tyler Dorsey (4-9, 4’). The 'red & whites' maintained the advantage, with Tyson Ward scoring seven consecutive points to make it 13-20 (7’), while a little later, Kostas Papanikolaou hit from beyond the arc for the 17-23 mark-up. However, missed rebounds, turnovers, and defensive lapses allowed Maroussi to go on an 11-0 run and take the lead in the final minutes of the quarter (28-23). The period ended 28-25 thanks to the first basket by Frank Ntilikina, who made his debut with the guests.
At the start of the second quarter, our team responded immediately. An 8-0 run - led by Alec Peters, Giannoulis Larentzakis, and Frank Ntilikina - brought Olympiacos back in a leading position (30-33, 12’). Olympiacos stepped up its defensive intensity, took control of the pace, and extended the lead: Larentzakis hit a three-pointer for +10 (36-46), Kostas Antetokounmpo finished a powerful dunk after good ball movement, and Papanikolaou stole the inbounds pass to make it 39-50. The first half ended with a corner three from Alec Peters (42-53).
Playing with composure on offense and focus on defense, the team went on a 13-2 run at the beginning of the second half to go up by 22 points (44-66), with Tyson Ward and Sasha Vezenkov leading the way. After a nice assist from Ntilikina, Nikola Milutinov dunked to make it 48-70 (25'), with Olympiacos in full control of the game (52-75, 26'), and closed the third quarter without being threatened, ahead by 23 (59-82).
In the final period, Saben Lee made his first appearance in Giorgos Bartzokas’ lineup, scoring twice near the basket and helping Olympiacos stay firmly in control while easing the pace (63-88, 32’). The rest of the game was essentially procedural, with the 'red & whites' continuing to pile on the points. Frank Ntilikina hit a three-pointer to make it 70-91 (36'), and Kostas Antetokounmpo added an emphatic dunk for 75-96 (38'). The newly signed French guard hit another three to make it 77-100, with our team cruising to a comfortable away win (81-100) in the opening round of the championship.
The quarters: 28-25, 42-53, 59-82, 81-100.
