A legendary one-man performance in Belgrade
Olympiacos was outstanding in Belgrade 'annihilating' Partizan with a 104-66 win for the 22nd round of the EuroLeague, improving their record to 13–8.
For our team, which delivered a fantastic first half by shooting 50% from three-point range and laying the foundations for the win, Sasha Vezenkov stood out, finishing the game with 25 points and 7 rebounds. The 38-point margin was the second-largest away win in our EuroLeague history and the 7th-largest overall.
Giorgos Bartzokas started the game with the usual lineup of Walkup, Dorsey, Papanikolaou, Vezenkov, and Milutinov. After a slightly sluggish start, Olympiacos began to showcase its quality. Vezenkov, Walkup, and Papanikolaou all knocked down their first three-point attempts, and with a shot by the latter, our team took a 4p. lead (12–16) after 5'. Partizan remained competitive until the end of the period (17–20), but from that point on, Olympiacos was simply unstoppable.
In the second quarter, the 'red & whites' played excellent basketball, moving the ball exactly the way their coach wants them to. With Thomas Walkup and Sasha Vezenkov leading the way, and every player who stepped onto the court making a positive contribution, the foundations for a big win were firmly set. Bartzokas’ team defended with high intensity and converted 6 of their 10 three-point attempts, with Walkup closing the half with 5 assists and a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc. The guard’s final shot made it 30–52 at halftime, with Olympiacos maintaining high motivation in the second half.
With Sasha Vezenkov scoring at will and surpassing 20 points in the opening possessions of the third quarter, Olympiacos quickly built leads of over thirty points. Nikola Milutinov also entered the equation, contributing in both scoring and rebounding. Olympiacos took advantage of the Serbians’ poor psychology and put the game away early, while Vezenkov’s third 3-pointer pushed the lead to 36 points (43–79) at the end of the third quarter.
The final ten minutes were largely procedural, with Giorgos Bartzokas distributing playing time among the rest of his players. Motivated in their own right, they continued to extend the lead, creating the conditions for an unprecedented triumph.
In the remaining time, Alec Peters picked up where he left off in Karditsa, while Donta Hall was outstanding on both ends of the floor. Olympiacos scored 104 points and recorded the second-largest margin of a victory ever achieved in an away game.
The quarters: 17–20, 30–52, 43–79, 66–104.
