Basketball
The out-of-tune Olympiacos Orchestra retreats to Spain
The fourth consecutive defeat against a Spanish team came in the SEF and Yannis Fileris writes about the failure to synchronize the two Olympiacos teams, which led to a complete upset of the “red and white” orchestra
Olympiacos’ Spanish withdrawal was completed (for the first round of this year’s EuroLeague) with their fourth consecutive defeat against the ACB teams, in the SEF! After Barcelona, Real and Baskonia, it was Valencia’s turn to send the “red-whites” to tea and silence the occasionally volcanic SEF, even if the organized platform was not completely filled.
If anyone makes a comparison with last year’s data, they will see that Olympiacos were 3/4 at home and only lost to Valencia, while in Spain they scored an impressive four out of four games! Okay, the comparisons with last year don’t speak for Piraeus.
The simple takeaway is that the team’s two top scorers are gone (Vezenkov and Slukas). And the even simpler fact that at least two of those included in the squad (Sikma and Brazdeikis) do not yet meet Olympiakos’ requirements. These also apply, but the most important thing of all is different. Last year Olympiacos Piraeus started and ended the year with almost no serious losses. This year they all came together.
McKissick, Goss, Milutinov and Sikma (Fal had also scored earlier in the year) were dropped, while two additional players were recently added, Petrusev and Mitrou Long, who has been eligible since January. Essentially Olympiacos has…two teams. One with the players who are hot, who keep games on their toes and have their rhythm, and the other with those who, either due to injury or because they are rookies, have to keep up with the others, in the midst of continuous games and minimal training .
The rotation and “baking” of the second team must necessarily occur in games where every detail counts. We have already pointed this out. Injuries force those who stay behind to overexert themselves, risking their own injury, while those who return take time that doesn’t exist. The carousel is non-stop and sometimes a year goes by without anyone noticing.
Bartzokas, thinking he needed to synchronize his two teams, started the rotation early. He knew he wouldn’t have Peters from Jamball, so at “4” Shikma would play first and then Petrusev. Milutinov would trade Fal, Goss for Walkup, McKissick for Papanikolaou, and Laretzakis for Kanan. The truth is that with his main five mistakes, even if he lost … a penalty under the basket, even if he made six (!) mistakes in the quarter, Olympiacos had a rhythm very easily and in fact “cheaply” With one He took the lead with a 12-0 series and gave his coach the right to think about the changes.
As he himself admitted after the game, he may have made a mistake in officiating the game. He was of course talking about the result and the image his team had in the second quarter “We went completely off plan, we didn’t follow the tactics we had chosen. The result was that we were behind in the table, down nine points and very stressed and feeling almost unbearable pressure.”
Everything wrong and upside down
Somehow the “red and white” orchestra was completely out of tune instead of synchronizing. Olympiacos played one of the worst games in the last three years:
✐ Scored only 58 points, with six misses and seven shots (9/16), while shooting a very poor 41% on 2-pointers and 29% on 3-pointers! Such a bad attack can’t win anyone.
✎ I made 15 mistakes, one too many, especially for a home team. No matter how intense Valencia’s pressure was, it was unjustified, especially when the ball went through the hands of its players or the passes were marked by a… supernatural giant and not a teammate. The ratio of assists (15) to fouls (15) is disappointing and also prohibitive for victory.
✏ The 11 offensive rebounds that the guests got also hurt Olympiacos. Some of them went into the hands of the Moubros players, while Piraeus wanted to come out as a surprise to reduce the difference. One, two, three, the fourth time… Valencia hit the goal and the home team’s attempt always had the same result: a draw!
The strong Valencia did not miss the opportunity despite their absences (Harper, Arostegi, Ojeleye). Their defense was bone-breaking and the battle was fought relentlessly until the final horn. If a three-pointer from McKissick that “dried up” the Spanish team’s basket had found its way, or if the French referee Joseph Bissan had not found an offensive foul on an orthodox shot by Kanan, things might have turned out differently. Obviously you don’t play basketball with ifs and of course Olympiacos didn’t lose because of the referees.
They are not at home?
The defeat came at a difficult time as it is a difficult week and Olympiacos should start to recover by taking away Irini and Filia’s big doubles. The “Red and Whites” travel with their backs to the wall to Bologna (for Virtus) and Lyon (Villeurbanne is waiting) and know that they have to change their schedule. Before the game against Valencia they were hoping for a score of 8:6, but their score was 7:7.
Yes, nothing is lost, since there are more or less ten teams cooking in the same cauldron (with a difference of just one win), but Olympiacos is forced to stay on its feet away from its stadium, because after Lyon there is also a visitor in the Mercedes Benz Arena for the game against Alba Berlin.
By winning again, Olympiacos Piraeus will clean up the mess it has already made in the SEF, so the second round, which begins with two home games (Monaco, Milan), will put the team on the… straight path. However, the question is self-evident. Can he overcome one of his weaknesses and eventually find the chemistry and rhythm that will take him back to the top of the table?
If it had just been about one player, there might not have been the slightest doubt that the team would find its way. But now Bartzokas has to solve many different equations, and no one can be sure about the mood of the orchestra and the reverberation of the basketball melody on the EuroLeague floors. Walkup said it in his own words after the game. Win to save the ship so they can be reunited during the season, which, let’s not forget, is very long.
PS: No problem. Olympiakos had to give Peters a break because his wife’s pregnancy was difficult and the American wanted to be at their helm. Any professional would do the same and do anything to stay away from work and support his wife. End of the story.
PS 2: KAE Olympiakos Piraeus rightly condemned the racist attack on the French referee and even withdrew the ticket from the fan in question. Just because someone paid a high price doesn’t give them the right to behave badly. On the contrary: it obliges him – since he is also very close to the field – to observe the elementary rules of behavior of sports fans. Anything else is disrespectful to his team and himself…
Source: sport 24
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.
On the evening of December 25 and the night of December 26, five Christmas games were traditionally held as part of the NBA regular season.
The most important match of the match day was played in Oklahoma, where the Thunder hosted San Antonio.
The home team started the game better and were ahead for most of the first quarter, but they missed a move 0:11 into the quarter, allowing Spurs to take the lead 41:36. Oklahoma was unable to take the lead after that, but San Antonio maintained its lead by keeping the game under control and eventually won 117-102.
The Spurs have won all three games against the Thunder this season, while Oklahoma has lost just two of the other 28 games.
The most productive player of the match was Fox, who brought 29 points to San Antonio, while Vembanyama also scored a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers played Houston at home and suffered a crushing defeat.
The fate of the match was decided in the first quarter, when the Rockets won by 12 points (25:37). Afterwards, they increased their advantage by completely controlling the course of the match and eventually won with a score of 119:96.
For Houston, Thompson scored 26 points and Shengyun had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Denver and Minnesota closed out game day.
The first half of the match ended in a draw. Neither team managed to take a lead of more than 9 points, and Denver entered the big break with a 2-point lead at 57:55. In the third quarter, the Nuggets made an attack of 6:0 at the beginning and 10:2 in the middle, reaching a 16-point lead, and at the end of the quarter they were ahead +15 – 90:78. The Timberwolves did not give up and made a 16:2 move midway through the fourth quarter, reaching a lead of 107:108. This gave fans a tense ending; Edwards hit a three-pointer 2 seconds before the siren, sending the game into overtime at 115:115. And there Jokic played a decisive role and scored 18 points in 5 minutes, allowing the Nuggets to win 142:138.
Jokic scored 56 points in the NBA on Christmas Day, falling just four shy of Bernard King’s record. Nikola also recorded a triple-double with 16 rebounds and 15 assists. Murray had a double-double with 35 points and 10 assists.
NBA. Regular season. Christmas Day, 25-26 December
New York – Cleveland – 126:124 (23:38, 37:20, 24:38, 42:28)
New York: Brunson (34), Hart (15), Bridges (12), Towns (11 + 14 rebounds), Anunoby (8) – start; Clarkson (25), Kolek (16 + 9 assists), Diawara (5), Hookporty (0), Robinson (0 + 12 rebounds).
cleveland: Mitchell (34 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Garland (20 + 10 assists), Merrill (11), Allen (7 + 9 rebounds), Wade (6) – start; Tyson (16), E. Mobley (14 + 9 rebounds), Hunter (13), Bryant (3), Ball (0).
Oklahoma – San Antonio – 102:117 (36:41, 24:28, 19:26, 23:22)
Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (22), Hartenstein (13 + 12 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (12 + 6 assists), Holmgren (10 + 12 rebounds), Dort (8) – start; Caruso (12), K. Williams (8), Wiggins (5), Joe (5), Wallace (5), Carlson (2), Barnhizer (0), Youngblood (0).
San Antonio: Fox (29), Castle (19 + 7 assists), Barnes (15), Cornet (6), Vassell (5) – start; Vembanyama (19 + 11 rebounds), Harper (12), K. Johnson (9 + 7 rebounds), McLaughlin (3), Sohan (0), Shempeni (0), Brian (0), Olynyk (0), Waters (0).
Golden State – Dallas – 126:116 (40:28, 31:30, 29:31, 26:27)
Golden State: Curry (23), Butler (14 + 9 rebounds + 9 assists), Moody (12), Dr. Green (7), Post (6) – start; Melton (16), Horford (14), Podziemski (13 + 8 rebounds), Jackson-Davis (10), Payton II (6), Richard (5).
dallas: Flagg (27), Marshall (14), Washington (14 + 10 rebounds), Nembhard (4), Davis (3) – starter; Williams (26), Christie (13), Thompson (7), Gafford (6), Caleb Martin (2).
Lakers-Houston-96:119 (25:37, 28:26, 21:29, 22:27)
Lakers: Doncic (25 + 7 assists + 6 turnovers), James (18), Reeves (12), Ayton (10), Hachimura (0) – start; Vanderbilt (11), Smart (6), Larevia (5), James Jr. (3), Thiero (2), Knecht (2), Kleber (2).
Houston: Thompson (26 + 7 rebounds), Durant (25 + 9 assists), Smith (16 + 7 rebounds), Shengyun (14 + 12 rebounds + 6 turnovers), Eason (13) – start; Sheppard (13), Capela (6), Adams (4 + 9 rebounds), Tate (2), A. Holiday (0), Davison (0), Green (0), Okogie (0), Finney-Smith (0).
Denver – Minnesota – 142:138 (STARTING 32:29, 25:26, 35:23, 23:37, 27:23)
Denver: Jokic (56 + 16 rebounds + 15 assists + 5 turnovers), J. Murray (35 + 10 assists), Hardaway (19), Jones (12 + 9 rebounds), Watson (9) – start; B. Brown (7), Nnaji (2), Valanciunas (2), Strother (0).
Minnesota: Edwards (44 + 6 turnovers), Randle (32 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), McDaniels (21), Gobert (9 + 12 rebounds + 6 blocks), DiVincenzo (6 + 7 rebounds + 8 assists) – start; Reed (13), Hyland (11), Clark (2), Juzeng (0), Conley (0), Shannon (0).
tournament tables
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
Head coach of “Kharkov Falcons” Valery Plekhanov He summarized the team’s 2025 results and talked about the preparations for the continuation of the season:
“Summing up the results of the calendar year, I want to congratulate all our fans on the upcoming New Year and Merry Christmas, wish our favorite team peace and good victories! “Kharkov Falcons” are the first players of this Super League season, so second place at the moment is a good result.
There are a few points we would like to emphasize separately. First of all, seven players from last season’s active squad won the Premier League together, but five of them never played in the Super League. Therefore, the experience they gained in the first half of this season is almost priceless. Secondly, Kharkiv Falcons are one of the two champion teams that did not play a single match at home. It’s very difficult when you’re not playing for your fans, you’re training in one gym, and you’re playing in a different gym every time, even on home tours. In these conditions, 4 defeats in 13 matches is a good result.
One of the most negative moments of this year was not being able to participate in the last four of the Ukrainian Cup. Unfortunately, we were a little unlucky in the draw. After an emotionally difficult and physically exhausting match with Krivbass, we did not have enough strength for the next match against Kiev-Basket in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, our performances in the cup are over, but now we will be able to focus all our efforts on the championship.
Our main problem now is injuries. We have five injured players, three of whom have serious injuries that require a long recovery period. We’re about to get off to a very tough start to the new calendar season because the Falcons will be playing basketball six weekends in a row, which means six road trips with no rest time. If we could count on all twelve players in the squad at the beginning of the season, there will no longer be such a rotation. Therefore, all the responsibility and burden will fall on the players in the rankings. I hope they get over their injuries in the new year, recover from their injuries as soon as possible, return to work and help their beloved club properly represent Kharkiv in the Super League.
Despite the holidays, we have training scheduled almost seven days a week. “I really hope that by January 10 we will be a combat-ready team that can solve serious problems.”
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.
On December 23, as part of the 1/8 final of the Romanian Cup, the Ukrainian derby was played between Bucharest and Dinamo. Vyacheslav Bobrova and “Fast” Alexandra Lipovoy.
Dinamo won the match 89:79, and the fate of the ticket to the next round was decided in overtime, as Rapid won the first match – 83:73.
The home players acted more accurately in extra time and won with a total score of 101:85 and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Vyacheslav Bobrov made a double-double in 33 minutes on the field, scoring 10 points (4/7 two-pointers, 0/1 three-pointers, 2/2 free throws), collecting 10 rebounds, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls.
Alexander Lipovoy played 38 minutes, scored 16 points (1/2 two-pointers, 4/7 three-pointers, 2/2 free throws), collected 3 rebounds, made 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls.
Romanian Cup. 1/8 final. 2nd match, 23 December
Dinamo Bucharest – Rapid Bucharest – 101:85 Overtime (17:22, 28:12, 24:19, 20:26, 12:6)
Match record:
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.
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