Aris – Olympiakos 76-87: Red and white management in the palace and unspeakable sadness for Alkis

In a postponed game for the 11th game of Stoiximan Basket League, held in the shadow of the murder of Alkis Kampanos, Olympiakos defeated the incomplete Aris 87-76 in Thessaloniki, providing the power management needed ahead of Thursday’s game (2/10, 21 :00) with Efes at SEF.

The Red-Whites escaped the first third and, with a much richer squad, put on no more strength than they had planned to claim their seventh away win (7-0) and twelfth overall (12-1) in the Greek league. On the other handThe Yellows, without James Kelly on vacation in the United States, didn’t find it easy to follow their opponents and despite the efforts they made in the second half of the game, they paid for the many mistakes they made in the first by winning with 4 fell to 5-8-3 at Palace.

Sasha Vezenkov had 18 points and 7 rebounds in under 22 minutes, while Olivier Hanlan, a former Euroleague player, confirmed with 35 points from 7/11 three-pointers the tremendous motivation he finds when competing against top-tier teams. Just like he did against Panathinaikos.

In the 19th minute, play was stopped to commemorate 19-year-old Alkis who so unjustly and horribly lost his life in the Charilaou area a week ago. Emotions swept every corner of the stadium and the sustained applause from those in attendance conveyed the message that there were no more victims of fan violence.

The race

For Olympiacos it was a question of 95.4 points per league game rhythm, ‘extending’ a double-digit lead and controlling the game. From the moment the red-whites got past the low 30% (3/10) and with organizer Sloukas (not the nervous Wookup) finishing the first third with 9/18 tries, they laid the solid foundation early on the double .

Vezenkov already had 10 points before McKissick and Printezis offered additional options from the bench for the red-white +20 (20-40). The hosts wasted too much possession in a game of this nature and it was not possible to keep up.

Hanlan’s one-on-one moves and Williams’ sure-fire shot did only temporary damage to the Red and White defense, which had no further problems. At the same time, Olympiakos attack finally found what it needed without ever overdoing it. Under these conditions, Mars first reached -9 (53-62) and then -7 (73-80). But never closer to claiming the huge surprise as the fight progressed.

The Canadian was unstoppable from the periphery (35 points, 7/11 3-points) and caused a stir among the Reds and Whites. But despite Bartzokas’ technical penalty for protesting, Olympiakos was kept at a safe distance thanks to the cheerful McKissick and felt no threat from his struggling opponent for the final two minutes.

THE REFEREES: Papapetrou, Karpanos, Bakalis

THE TEN MINUTES: 14-25, 33-51, 50-62, 76-87

MARS (Kastritis): Cowan 7 (1/6 two points, 1/3 three points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 errors, 2 steals), Netzipoglou, Williams 14 (3/8 three points, 5 rebounds), Hanlan 35 ( 4/10 two points, 7/11 three points, 3 assists, 4 errors), Kottas 3 (4 rebounds), Juston 6 (3/3 two points, 5 rebounds), Kamaras 2, Locket 8

OLYMPIC (Bartzokas): Wookup 9 (2/4 three points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists), Dorsey 3 (1/4 three points), Fal 8 (5 rebounds), Vezenkov 18 (4/6 two points, 2/4 three ). Points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), Papanikolaou 7 (1/4 threes, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Larentzakis, Sloukas 10 (1/3 threes, 5 rebounds, 7 assists), Martin 8, Printezis 7 (8 rebounds) , Makiskik 17 (1/5 three points)

Statistics of the Mars group: 14/31 two points, 11/26 three points, 15/23 shots, 29 rebounds (20 defensive – 9 offensive), 10 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 15 errors

Olympiacos team statistics: 24/38 two points, 8/27 three points, 15/19 shots, 38 rebounds (27 defensive – 11 offensive), 21 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks, 13 errors

The next games of the two teams: On 13.2. hosts Aris Ionikos (17:00), while Olympiakos plays Lavrio at SEF a day later (14.2, 20:00).