Basketball
Final Four, Olympiakos – AEK 76-70: Vezenkov and Papanikolaou sealed qualification for the final
Playing with the most options and energy, Olympiakos quickly ‘stopped’ AEK’s counterattack in the last third and secured a ticket to the final of the Greek Cup Final Four. Where Panathinaikos OPAP is waiting.
Olympiakos stepped up the gas in the second half against AEK (76-70) to secure a ticket to the final of the Greek Cup Final Four. The red-whites fell into the trap of the yellow-black rhythm in the first part, but played with significantly more energy after the break, pressed the accelerator and didn’t look back.
Even though AEK thought they could stall the game at the moment, they reduced it from -16 to -5 in two and a half minutes for the end. Thomas Wokap and Costas Sloukas scored back-to-back baskets and ‘ended’ the game, leaving Olympiakos now with an opportunity against Panathinaikos OPAP on the night of Sunday 20 February at 17:00 (10 19th final), together with the Greek Cup winners returning to the throne after 11 years – that final conquest of 2011.
Costas Papanikolaou and Sasha Vezenkov did the most damage to the Union, which struggled for two and a half seasons, but it was obvious they could not avoid death. AEK, by the way, are struggling with a lot of absenteeism as Brian Angola, Nikos Pappas, Andy Rautins and Keith Langford were absent for various reasons.
The MVP
The title of most valuable belongs to … two. Costas Papanikolaou and Sasha Vezenkov were the ones who were as consistent (in defense and attack) as everyone else from the first minute to the last, leading Olympiakos to the final. The first had 16 points (with 5/6 two points, 2/8 three points), 2 rebounds and 3 assists with 29’45” of ground presence, while the second had 15 points (with 5/11 shots and 3/ 3 shots). ), 9 rebounds and 2 assists in 29’54” attendance.
The weak link
It’s hard to say that any of the AEK players fell that far, especially since everyone (whether misplaced or attacked) put in a lot of effort and fought to the end to win. But if Keno Colom was more accurate (he finished with 1/11 shots) then the Union would have more chances to get the tumble in the final period.
The stat that stood out
Both Olympiacos and AEK shot from the periphery with very poor percentages. The Red-Whites finished the game with 9/32 (28.1%) while the Yellow-Blacks had 7/25 (28%).
The race
The rhythm of the first part was obvious that it favored AEK. The yellow-blacks didn’t let Olympiakos run the field, they were very careful with their possessions and thanks to the personal phases of Dimitris Flionis they managed to reach +4 (14-18 in 9′). On the other hand, the Red-Whites didn’t impress with their performance (mainly in attack) but had Costas Papanikolaou as very effective in offensive rebound and with 12 points for +5 (29-24 ) for George Bartzokas’ team in the middle of the second third.
Nothing significant changed until the break. Olympiacos remained in the lead without feeling like absolute bosses. 9/21 two-pointers and 4/15 three-pointers were the main reason for this, along with the fact that Ian Hamer caused damage near the basket – he had 10 points at halftime.
Olympiakos went into the second half with the obvious intention of stepping on the accelerator. His energy was overflowing (both in defense and offense) with Sasha Vezenkov now being the mainstay of offense. Somehow George Bartzokas’ team turned +5 (39-34 in 24′) to +16 (56-40 in 29′).
Stefanos Dedas tried but the game took its course. Not only because the Union had no alternatives from the bank, but also because those present were out of place from the periphery. The 4/20 threes to 35′ explains a lot, especially considering Keno Colom hadn’t scored a single one up to that point (0/5). Nevertheless, the yellow-blacks did not give up. Everything else.
Ian Hamer intervened, scoring personal baskets and propelling his team to victory in the two-and-a-half minutes as Olympiakos’ +5 (66-61) was a possible lead not least to be questioned. However, a three-pointer from Thomas Wokap and a lay-up from Costas Sloukas restored order (71-61 at 1’18”), allowing George Bartzokas’ team to claim victory – qualifying for the final of the Greek Cup Final Four.
THE REFEREES: Koromilas, Poursanidis, Tsolakos.
THE TEN MINUTES: 16-18, 32-29, 56-42, 76-70.
OLYMPIC (Bartzokas): Wookup 8 (1 three points, 4 assists), Dorsey 6 (2/8 three points), Larentzakis 1, Fal 7 (6 rebounds), Sloukas 12 (2 three points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists), Martin 11 (7 rebounds), Vezenkov 15 (2 threes, 9 rebounds), Peintezis, Papanikolaou 16 (2/8 threes), McKissick.
AEK (Dedas): Colom 4 (1/11 shots, 12 assists), Flionis 18 (5/9 two points, 2/5 three points, 2/2 shots, 4 assists, 3 steals), Petropoulos 3 (1/5 three points), Griffin 11 (2 threes, 6 rebounds), Carlis, Mavroidis 4, Kouzeloglou 4 (4 rebounds), Hamer 26 (9/12 twos, 2/4 threes, 2/2 shots, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steal).
Team Stats – Olympiacos: 19/36 two points, 9/32 three points, 11/14 shots, 39 rebounds (27 defensive + 12 offensive), 20 assists, 4 steals, 10 errors, 4 blocks.
Team Stats – AEK: 21/40 two points, 7/25 three points, 7/9 shots, 25 rebounds (21 defense + 4 offense), 23 assists, 8 steals, 7 errors, 2 blocks.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.