Incredible Sloukas, unimaginable final, huge win. The 31-year-old goalkeeper kept a clean sheet and Olympiakos beat Efes 87-85 in the 26th game of the Euroleague after 45 minutes of non-stop struggle at SEF.

The Reds and Whites were on the ropes, but after Dorsey initially held them up with 11 points after 35′, the big shot their leader was looking for in overtime came at the right time. That is, when the European champion did not have time to react. Of course, the end result produced a lava of excitement that spilled from one end of the field to the other, reminiscent of festivals before the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this win, their tenth home win in eleven games of the season and their first against the Turks after 0/6 in more than 3 years, the Greek team reached a 14-9 and made a decisive step for their playoff presence in the competition. At the same time, Efes fell to 12-12 and is in serious danger as long as its competitors find victories it cannot collect.

It’s certain that Slouka’s shot will become a milestone as long as Piraeus secures their place in the 8th team, but it doesn’t mean that Dorsey or Vezenkov don’t deserve credit for their contribution to what happened before. Φ Fal for the great defense he played after the substitutions.

The MVP

Kostas Sloukas’ contribution to Olympiacos’ big win is not in the least questioned. Yes, it was Dorsey who came off the bench with energy and helped a lot when the others started walking, but without the 31-year-old guard Bartzoka’s team would not have achieved anything in the final. The clean sheet was, of course, the… peak of his performance, scoring 23 points (4/10 two points, 4/7 three points) in one night, more than at any other point in the tournament this year. and he graced her with 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. 38:36 down to earth!

The weak link

Efes had 2-3 players behind. Neither Singleton nor Larkin helped depending on the role. But Krunoslav Simon, unable to finish the match due to his sending off (unsportsmanlike foul, technical penalty), did not allow Ataman to change the formation and forced him to go with Bryant, who did not help at all offensively. Advantageous for Olympiakos.

The stats that stood out

The fact that Olympiacos only lost two defensive rebounds is an achievement when there are players like Plays, Singleton, Dunston, but also regional players with sporting qualifications on the other side. Overall, the Reds and Whites had 8 more (34 vs. 26) and it didn’t “hurt” them that they were significantly behind in the ratio of assists to errors. When they were 14-13, Efes played at 23-12 with the last 13 passes belonging to Mitsic.

Ataman’s peripheral players are also unlucky because if Moerman’s 75% (3/4) exit the equation, the rest would be 5/22 behind the line! Olympiacos, on the other hand, found 11 accurate shots in 32 attempts – the eleventh of which was the key.

The race

Aside from Efes’ momentum, Olympiakos had to cope with the loss of Wokap, who was knocked out before the Yambol. This put Sloukas in the starting eleven, who became the directional compass in the red-white attack with a 3/4 shot. Efes stayed close until 12:12, scoring with direct executions, but the hosts made better use of most of the circumstances they found, either low or close to the basket. While the guests had 0/6 threes in 8 minutes, Olympiakos escaped by 21:15 and then 26:17 (10th).

In the absence of Slouka (who went to the bench to catch his breath), the attack had to find alternatives. It wasn’t easy, but it was possible, with the result that Piraeus retained the lead (32-25) against the long shot that Efes was beginning to find. Printezis marked Vezenkov, but Larentzakis’ passion was mainly that he didn’t let the guests get any closer.

The problem arose when Mitsic and Larkin started playing together again. Although Barzoka’s players didn’t lose a defensive rebound in the first half, Plays nailed Efes’ first lead (37-38) and Larkin found contact with the basket from the firing line (39-41).

42-41 of 20′ was as smooth as it seemed. Efes tried to bounce back from the momentum of the second ten minutes, but Olympiacos’ ‘fundamental’ five had the right answers (50-45) as Sloukas missed the goal for a free three (Vezenkov, Papanikolaou). When Efes’ defense tried to block his pass, he attacked and led to 57:52 (26’30”).

Simon’s dismissal (with a technical penalty combined with an unsportsmanlike foul in the first half) could have bolstered the Red-Whites’ efforts, but the visitors’ disorganization was temporary. On the contrary, Bartzokas’ players seemed to run out of energy and 61-61 out of 30′ was unpredictable. When Vezenkov scored, Efes had “run” a 0-9 that seemed to give him some breathing room, but Slouka’s leadership and the fighting spirit of the others prevented more than -4 (63-67).

They just needed more than that for Olympiacos to win. While Sloukas reached 20 points, Fal missed an easy period and Dorsey spent an easy laydown on an offensive foul. Of course, the Expatriate Guard’s personal rematch yielded five valuable points that set the conditions for the downfall after a series of defenses came out. If he hadn’t lost the next possession, which allowed Mitsic to make it 75-75, he wouldn’t need the last 14.6” attack. Which entailed a much greater level of difficulty and was lost along with McKissick’s delay in landing.

However, Dorsey had plenty of energy to expend after resting and his own points seemed capable of tipping the record. The fact that Sloukas initially did not find the bigwig he was looking for in extra time, but Larkin found him, seemed to work for Efes. But no, no. Because after Dorsey set up a midfield reduced to the point and Fal eliminated the key defense in Mitsic, the 31-year-old guard did what the fate of the game demanded of him. He snapped the opportunity out of his hair and…pulled it off. He was first released and then executed with great composure and confidence so that when he turned the clock back it was 87-85. This is exactly the end of his performance.

THE REFEREES: Radovic, Paterniko, Koljensic

THE TEN MINUTES: 26-17, 42-41, 61-61, 75-75, 87-85par.

OLYMPIC (Bartzoka’s):Dorsey 19 (2/5 three points), Lountzis, Larentzakis 5 (1/2 three points, 2 rebounds), Fal 10 (4/6 two points, 5 rebounds), Sloukas 23 (4/10 two points, 4/6 three points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists), Martin 1 (3 rebounds), Vezenkov 16 (3/4 two points, 2/9 three points, 8 rebounds), Printezis 4, Papanikolaou 3 (1/7 three points), Makiskik 6 (1/3 three points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists)

ΑΝΑΝΤΟΛΟΥ ΕΦΕΣ (ataman): Larkin 11 (0/3 two points, 2/5 three points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 errors), Boboa 13 (1/4 three points, 3 assists, 3 errors), Singleton 4, Bryant 3 ( 1/2 three points, 3 steals), Morman 11 (3/4 three points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist), plays 14 (3 rebounds), Mitic 12 (1/7 three points, 13 assists), Dunston 9, Simon8 (4/5 two points, 0/3 three points, 6 rebounds)

Olympiacos team statistics: 19/37 two points, 11/32 three points, 16/20 shots, 34 rebounds (24 defensive – 10 offensive), 14 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 13 errors

Anantolou Efes’ group stats: 25/37 two points, 8/26 three points, 11/12 shots, 26 rebounds (24 defensive – 2 offensive), 23 assists, 9 steals, 4 blocks, 12 errors

The next games of the two teams: In the 27th game, Olympiacos hosts Armani Milano (24/02 at 21:45 CET) while Anadolu Efes Maccabi hosts Tel Aviv (24/02 at 19:30 CEST).