Basketball
Olympiacos – Armani Milano 67-58: Refuses to lose and dreams of a quartet
At SEF, Armani Milano pressed her like Panathinaikos did in Dyo Aorakia. Despite being in control for three seasons, in the final straight he saw George Bartzokas’ players play in the “Reds” and claim the win (67-58), cementing them in the top four overall.
Armani Milano was in full control for three seasons but once Costas Sloukas found a rhythm everything changed. Olympiacos accelerated in the final ten minutes, halting the game and claiming victory in SEF (67-58) to establish themselves in the top four of the rankings.
The game was very similar to the Greek Cup final against Panathinaikos OPAP four days ago. That means the red-whites were off for three seasons. However, everything changed in the fourth, leading to the big win for the 27th game of the EuroLeague.
A win that has special value/meaning as it is the second this year against Ettore Messina’s team. That means Olympiacos will have the upper hand in any draw between the two teams.
About MVP
Sakil McKissick was the one who ignited the spark at SEF early in the third period, but Costas Sloukas became the player who ‘cleaned’ the game. Only with the two consecutive threes he scored within a few seconds and then with his creation that caused great damage to the Italian defense. The 31-year-old guard finished the game with 16 points (with 1/3 two points, 2/5 three points and 8/9 shots), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 4 errors in 24’55” of involvement. Totally normal, in the finale of the game, SEF was heard idolizing him!
The weak link
Sergio Rodr.guez wrote one of the worst performances of his career in SEF, failing to score in a kid. The experienced point guard had 0/5 shots and 2/2 shots in the 18’58” he played.
The stat that stood out
The rim shot was a major problem for both teams throughout the game, as evidenced by the fact they finished 7/39 from 6:75. But the most important thing for Olympiakos was what happened in the last period. You see, George Bartzokas players went from 8/22 two points and 2/14 three points (until 30′) to 6/7 two points and 2/6 three points (from there).
The race
From the first minutes it seemed as if the defense would call the shots. Both teams mostly concentrated on the back part of the field and used up a lot of energy in order not to give the opponent shreds. This resulted in a low pace and low score (6-6 in 6 minutes), with Armani Milano gradually finding opportunities to score. With the big guys doing most of the work and Olympiakos going almost six minutes without a point, the visitors were up +12 (7-19 in 12′).
However, by the final of the first part, George Bartzokas’ team managed to clarify the situation. The Red-Whites took advantage of Armani Milano’s attrition (11/15 shots) and reduced the shot at half-time (25-27) thanks to the two three-pointers by Sasha Vezenkov and Sakil Makiskik with the conclusion of the first part to find that Olympiakos 4/ 13 has two points and 2/11 has three points, but also has 3 assists for 10 errors. So based on his stats -2 was as small as bad.
The same picture continued in the third quarter, only Armani Milano now got help from the periphery. Devon Hall scored two consecutive threes, which was the main reason for the visitors’ +8 (31:39) in the 25th minute of the game. Shaquille McKissick tried to counterbalance, but overall the Reds and Whites were still struggling offensively, as reflected in the fact that they had more errors (13) than assists (7) by the end of the third period. That’s why Armani Milano defended his lead (39-43) despite the 2/11 threes until the end of the quarter.
However, the change of staff was not long in coming. Sakil McKissick got the ball rolling and Costas Sloukas quickly took the baguette to change the balance of the game. At the time Armani Milano lost free-kicks, the 31-year-old guard was using them. With two back-to-back three-pointers of his own, Olympiakos brought the ups and downs, reaching +6 (56-50) in the five minutes to the end, giving the folks in SEF an opportunity to go crazy.
That’s it! Giorgos Bartzokas’ team had found a rhythm, improved their psychology and were ready for another big win. After the momentum actually shifted to the hosts’ side, it wasn’t long before the difference opened up abruptly, eventually reaching +11 (64-53) at 2’19”, at a point where Ettore Messina protagonists were eagerly sought.
In the last two minutes he failed to find them, simply because Olympiacos’ defense left absolutely no doubt. The lead remained in their own hands, the victory consolidated the Greek cup winners in the quartet.
THE REFEREES: Ritzik-Vilius Nedovic.
THE TEN MINUTES: 7-15, 25-27, 39-43, 67-58.
OLYMPIC (Bartzokas): Wookup 2, Dorsey 6 (0/5 shots, 6/7 shots, 3 assists, 2 errors), Larentzakis 1, Fal 12 (5/6 two points, 2/5 shots, 7 rebounds), Sloukas 16 (1/3 two points, 2/5 three points, 8/9 shots, 4 assists, 4 errors), Martin (5 rebounds), Vezenkov 16 (5/6 two points, 1/5 three points, 3/5 shots ). , 5 rebounds), Printezis, Papanikolaou (0/4 shots), McKissick 14 (3/6 two points, 1/2 three points, 5/6 shots, 3 assists).
ARMANI MILAN (Messina): Meli 9 (11 rebounds, 3 assists), Grand 2, Rodriguez 2 (6 assists, 3 errors), Tarzuski, Ritchie, Hall 15 (4/5 two points, 2/3 three points, 1/1 shot ), Delaney 8 (0/4 three points, 5 assists, 3 errors), Mitoglou 8, Daniels, Hines 7 (4 rebounds, 2 assists), Bentley 2, Datome 5 (1).
Team Stats – Olympiacos: 14/29 two points, 4/20 three points, 27/36 shots, 26 rebounds (22 defense + 4 offense), 13 assists, 8 steals, 14 errors, 2 blocks.
Group Stats – Armani Milano: 20/36 two points, 3/19 three points, 9/11 shots, 27 rebounds (21 defensive + 6 offensive), 17 assists, 6 steals, 16 errors, 1 block.
The next commitments of the two teams: Olympiakos travels to Germany next week for a game against Bayern (4/3), while Armani Milano has a hell of a week ahead as they defeat Unics Kazan (1/3, inside) and Panathinaikos OPAP (4/3, outside) in a row ).
Watch Game Night for Olympiacos’ big win:
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.
Three matches were played as part of the 18th round of the Euroleague on December 26.
Partizan hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv and suffered a heavy defeat.
The home team, which started the match better, was separated from the opponent by 11 points (28:17) in the first quarter, and at the end of the first 10 minutes, they missed the 3:13 attack and reduced the difference with the opponent team to 1 point (31:30). In the second quarter, Maccabi seized the initiative and after a 14:0 move, they fell behind by 15 points, 56:41. This part of the game was decisive, since then the away team increased their advantage and achieved +33 points – 92:58 at the end of the third quarter, after which they relaxed a little and allowed the opponent to reduce the gap to the last 25 points – 87:112.
This was Maccabi’s fifth consecutive win in the Euroleague, which moved them up to 14th in the standings.
While the most productive player of the match was Walker, who scored 20 points, overall five of Maccabi’s players scored 10+ points.
Monaco had a tough home win against Real Madrid.
The Monegasques were ahead almost the entire game against Los Blancos, but they could not gain a comfortable distance. At the beginning of the third quarter, the home team had a 14-point lead, but then they missed a move at 4:14 and allowed their opponent to return to the game, and at the end of 10 minutes, Real equalized the score: 70:70. The decisive factor in the fourth quarter was Monaco’s 12:0 breakthrough towards the middle of the 10-minute period, which gave them a 12-point advantage: 87:75. After this, although the guest team reduced the gap, they did not fully return to the game. As a result, Monaco won with a score of 100:95.
Real Madrid’s Ukrainian headquarters Alexey Len He spent 6 minutes on the field and made 1 incorrect two-point shot and 1 foul during this time.
The two visiting players immediately recorded double-doubles. Tavares had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Campazzo had 28 points and 10 assists. Okobo scored 22 points for the winners, but Monaco showed more team play; 6 home players scored 10+ points.
Virtus Bologna hosted Olympiacos and almost staged a surprising comeback in the fourth quarter.
The home team won the first quarter with a score of 25:23, but then the game went sideways and at the big break the Greeks had a 9-point advantage – 50:41, and before the last minute of the third quarter the away team was ahead +20 – 77:57. The fate of the match seemed certain, but then Virtus got back into the game with a move at 18:3. There was an even game further down the field, where the home team tried to equalize the score, but Fournier’s three-pointer with a score of 92:93 and successful free throws helped the Greeks preserve the victory, but Virtus made a three-point shot for equal score at the last second through Alston’s efforts.
Dorsey scored 23 points and Fournier scored 21 points for Olympiacos.
Europa League. Regular season. 18th round, 26 December
Partizan – Maccabi Tel Aviv – 87:112 (31:30, 12:28, 16:34, 28:20)
Partisan: Payne (15 points + 3 rebounds + 6 assists), Brown (12+2+4), Bonga (10+4+1), Jones (10+6+2), Marinkovich (9+2+1), Washington (8+1 assists), Osetkovski (8+1+3), Fernando (6+4+1), Lakic (6+1+1), Calathes (3+2+2).
maccabi: Walker (20+2+5), Sorkin (17+6+3), Leaf (14+6+1), Brissett (11+3 rebounds), Santos (10+2+2), Gord (9+4+2), Ryman (8+4 rebounds), Clark (7+3+6), Blatt (6+4+7), DiBartolomeo (5+3+1), Lundberg (3+2+2), Levy (2+1 selection).
Monaco – Reality – 100:95 (21:20, 26:23, 23:27, 30:25)
Monaco: Okobo (22+2+2), James (15+4+5), Nedovich (12+3 rebounds), Strazel (12+4 rebounds), Diallo (11+7+2), Mirotic (10+1+2), Theis (8+7+1), Blossomgame (6+4 rebounds), Hayes (4+7+1).
Real: Campazzo (28+5+10), Tavares (21+11 rebounds), Okeke (12+2 rebounds), Dec (9+4+2), Abalde (7+2 assists), Hezonja (6+5+2), Maledon (5+1+2), Procida (3), Garuba (2+2 rebounds), Kramer (2+1 rebounds).
Virtus Bologna – Olympiacos – 94:97 (25:23, 16:27, 19:27, 34:20)
virtus: Wildosa (17+2+4), Morgan (15+5 assists), Edwards (14+1+2), Diouf (12+4+1), Smailagic (9), Alston (8+2 rebounds), Niang (7+4+1), Hackett (6+3+4), Payola (4+1+4), Akele (2+1 rebounds).
OlympiacosDorsey (23+4+3), Fournier (21+1 rebounds), Vezenkov (16+5 rebounds), Milutinov (13+9+5), Peters (13+6+1), Papanikolaou (5+4+2), Walkup (2+2 assists), Ntilikina (2+1+2), Hall (2+2 assists), Morris (3 rebounds + 2 assists).
tournament table
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Croatian “Zadar” reported on its official website the transfer of a basketball player from the Ukrainian national team Ivan Tkachenko.
After a short trial period during which the Ukrainian player met the requirements of the coaching staff, a contract was signed with him at the end of the season.
The club has already announced that Tkachenko will participate in the Adriatic League and the Croatian Championship, so the Ukrainian can make his debut for the new team in the local championship match against Kvarner on December 27.
Tkachenko did not sign a contract with any club at the beginning of the 2025/26 season and played in only two official matches after the start of the season – as part of the Ukrainian national team, against Georgia and Denmark in November as part of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers.
Last season Ivan played for Mitteldeutscher, where he won the German Cup. The forward, who played in 32 matches in the 2024/25 Bundesliga, averaged 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17.3 minutes.
During his club career, Tkachenko played for Ukrainians Cherkasy Mavpy and Prometheus, as well as Finland’s Helsinki Seagals.
Zadar is in sixth place in the Adriatic League Group B with 4 wins in 10 matches, and is in second place in the Croatian Championship with a score of 10-1.
Check out this post on Instagram
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Star player of Los Angeles Lakers Luka Doncic Against the background of the embarrassing defeat of Houston Rockets (96:119), he explained what the team had to change to improve the results:
“I don’t know exactly what needs to change, but something definitely needs to change. We need to figure it out, that’s what we need to do. Everyone should discuss it.”
I know JJ Redick said it would be disturbing. And that’s the way it should be.
As I said, we need to discuss this. It may be uncomfortable, but everyone needs to try harder, starting with me.
We just have to challenge each other. Everyone should challenge themselves and their teammates. “There’s no way to play the way we play, so we’ve got to be better than that.”
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
-
Ligue 13 years agoRenato Sanchez signed in Paris for five years
-
Europa League4 years agoIn transfer alert at Olympiakos for additions and concessions
-
Europa League4 years agoFenerbahce – Eintracht 1: 1: The Germans took 1st place in the Olympiacos group
-
Europa League4 years agoWithout Nainggolan and Samata, the 11th team from Antwerp
-
Europa League4 years agoEuropa League
-
Europa League4 years agoAtalanta announced the acquisition of Boga
-
Europa League4 years agoFears that Zapata will be out for 4 months
-
Premier League4 years agoExcept for the rest of January, Sean was injured