Undefeated with auto pilot on…
Olympiacos beat Karditsa 92-61, for the 21st day of the Basket League and remained undefeated in Greece.
Giorgos Bartzokas showed his intention to rest his starters from the beginning of the game, however, the initial line up did not work as he would have wanted them to. The ‘red & whites’ were sluggish, were shooting poorly and despite the effort put in by Kostas Papanikolaou and Sasha Vezenkov in the offence, they closed the first quarter at -1 (21-22).
With Giannoulis Larentzakis leading the offence and Tarik Black dominating the post, Olympiacos ‘replied’ with a partial 15-4 and got a 10p. lead (36-26 at 7’). The competitive Karditsa though did not give up. They pressed in defense and stopped the ‘red & whites’ from opening up the score (38-32 at 20’).
Sasha Vezenkov returned on the floor, however, despite his steady connection to the basket, the guests ‘punished’ our team’s subpar defensive operation and maintained the difference to low levels (52-47 at 27’). But that was it though…
With three three-pointers (by Papanikolaou, Canaan and Papas) and two free throws by the captain following an unsportsmanlike foul by Gallinat, the ‘red & whites’ ran a partial 11-0 and got to lead by 16 (73-47) at 30’. And they didn’t stop there… They played pressing defense, they ‘struck’ from the perimeter and despite never really playing at 100%, they opened up the difference to +3, 92-61, which was the score that marked the end of the game.
- Moustapha Fall was not included in the final 12-men roster and Shaquielle McKissic was not summoned to play.
The quarters: 21-22, 38-32, 73-47, 92-61.
