Olympiacos – Armani Milano 67-58: Refuses to lose and dreams of a quartet

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: