It took 198 days from the final in Kaunas until Olympiacos Piraeus and Real Madrid met again. The two teams fought in the 12th game of the EuroLeague on Tuesday evening (May 12th) at the Stadium of Peace and Friendship. The European champions took the victory (77-71) and bounced back after the defeat at Fenerbahce.

Olympiacos fell to 6-6 (4-3 home and 2-3 away), which led to Tomas Walkap finding iron in the open shots of Madrid players. Mustafa Fal did everything he could against Eddie Tavares, Larentzakis, Peters, Papanikolaou had good periods, but the fouls that Kanan was accused of early on slowed down the Piraeus team.

Real Madrid climbed to 11-1 (6-0 at home and 5-1 away) to continue its lone run at the top of the table. Mario Hezonia was magical in his execution and rebounding, Canan Moussa scored a quick goal in the second half and Chus Mateo celebrated the result against an opponent few in the EuroLeague’s top division respected. Eddie Tavares was the familiar scarecrow, thwarting Kanan’s 3-pointer at 71-75 and clinching the game.

The MVP

Who should you highlight from Campasso (9 points on 3/4 shooting, 9 assists), Hezonia (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Moussa (23 points on 11 shots)? Impossibility. All played an important role, the first in organization and the other two mainly in implementation. And if we look at the standings, the Croatian and the Bosnian had 21 points, so… Let’s split the prize.

The weak link

Olympiacos needs Shaquille McKissick badly. On Tuesday evening, however, the American did not have a good image on the SEF floor. 0/2 2-pointers, 1/7 3-pointers, 2/4 shots and -4 points in the scoring system, all in 17:28.

The statistics that stood out

The two teams finished the first period with 7/11 and 7/9 two points, despite the presence of Fal-Tavares on the field. Olympiacos grabbed five offensive rebounds in the quarter and had 11 in the half, but also had 4/17 three-pointers. At the end of the evening, Piraeus had 13 shots and six more throws than its opponents. They also had six errors. And they missed this great opportunity by failing. 5-8 points through surprise, 19-7 points through opponent’s mistakes, 17-9 points through second chances.

The race

Olympiacos entered the game with momentum and, despite missing their first four three-point shots, were in control at a slow pace. Kanan was charged with two early fouls, Brazdeikis replaced him, but it was the partnerships of Cabaso and Tavares that kept Madrid in the lead until the end of the first period (19-23).

With Walkup staying on the field and Luntzis, McKissick and Larentzakis around him, Olympiakos continued to chase the result and continued to find iron from the field. Real gave away the three points, Hezonia scored frantically and in the end it was Larentzakis who kept his team going. He shot a second long shot in the 19th minute to make it 34:37, with the two teams equal at halftime and the Piraeus were rewarded with their 4/17 three-pointers.

With Moussa replacing Hezonia, Real retained the lead early in the second half but had no way of stopping Fal, who kept the Piraeus team close before Kanan’s 3/3 shot put them ahead 46-45. Walkup’s third foul (Kanan also had three) in the 26th minute was a negative development, as Milutinov missed two chances late in the third period, cutting the lead to one possession.

Olympiacos opened the fourth game with 2/2 threes from Papanikolaou and Walkap, SEF went into turmoil. Hezonia made it 65-69 with a big shot in the 34th minute, Tavares made it 68-71 and Lorentzakis-McKissick had one miss each before Campasso scored +5 for his team. The red-whites did not stop their efforts, but reduced them to four, but with the score at 71:75, Tavares thwarted Kanan’s three-pointer and decided the game for good

THE REFEREES: Belosevic, Hordov, Rossi

THE DECADES: 19-23, 34-37, 57-61, 71-77

OLYMPIC (Bartzokas): Walkap 17 (4/7 two-pointers, 3/10 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 4 assists), Kanan 7 (1/3 three-pointers, 4/5 shots, 2 assists), Lountzis 1, Larentzakis 9 (0/3 2 points, 2/4 3 points, 3/4 shots, 2 assists), Fal 10 (4/6 2 points, 2/2 shots, 3 rebounds), Papanikolaou 8 (1/ 5 threes, 3/4 Shots, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Brazdeikis 2, Peters 8 (2/2 two-pointers, 1/3 three-pointers, 1/1 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Milutinov 4 (2/6 2-pointers, 3 rebounds), Sikma, McKissick 5 (0/2 2-pointers, 1/7 3-pointers, 2/4 shots)

real Madrid (Mateo): Cozer, Cabasso 9 (1/2 2-points, 2/2 3-points, 1/2 shots, 9 assists), Hezonia 18 (4/7 2-points, 2/6 3-points, 4 /4 shots, 10 rebounds), Alothen (0/4 shots), Deck 5 (9 rebounds), Poirier, Tavares 11 (5/5 2-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks), Yule 6 (2/ 5 two-pointers, 0/2 three-pointers, 2/2 shots), Ediage 5 (1), Moussa 23 (2/4 two-pointers, 5/7 three-pointers, 4/4 shots, 3 rebounds)

Olympiakos team statistics: 14/32 2-pointers, 9/33 3-pointers, 16/22 shots, 35 rebounds (18 defensive – 17 offensive), 15 assists, 6 steals, 6 turnovers, 21 fouls

Real Madrid team statistics: 16/30 2-pointers, 10/22 3-pointers, 15/16 shots, 34 rebounds (26 defensive – 8 offensive), 17 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks, 13 turnovers, 22 fouls

The next games of the two teams: On matchday 13, Olympiacos Piraeus welcomes FC Bayern Munich (December 8th, 9:15 p.m.), while Real Madrid plays against Panathinaikos AKTOR at OAKA (December 7th, 9:15 p.m.).