Euro League
Olympiacos are back on the defensive, finding wins and reasons to smile
Olympiakos hasn’t maddened people but his performances in Spain convince him to come back stronger defensively and Giannis Fileris writes about the constants coming back and on an individual level
Olympiacos went to Spain with four consecutive defeats on their minds, one of which was a thoughtful misspelling as they lost to Red Star in the SEF, and return with a win over Baskonia and a detail loss to Euroleague champions Real Madrid. In terms of going, coming is more comfortable for the Piraeus with their record now 13-9 and a deep breath they needed so badly.
They took her away while feeling like they were being squeezed into the corner, the suitors surrounding her. Knowing that winners from Vitoria had to return, they took a step forward and, among other things, celebrated their first European victory of 2022.
Obviously Olympiacos haven’t solved all of their problems. Also, the team failed to express the first games again in two nights before being hit by the coronavirus and suffering the consequences of an already “small” squad. But he regained his composure, core principles, some of his energy and key players that he had missed in previous losing games.
The defense played by the Piraeus team in Madrid and Vitoria was exemplary.
- Real’s 82 points gave him 75 with 25/67 shots, with the pace and flow of the game pushing the limit of 70 points and a shot lost by Olympiacos and set by the hosts
- Basconia fell ten points below their average (62 instead of 72) at 43.8% (25/57), but Olympiakos forced them to make 16 errors and steal the ball 13 times for an easy basket in surprise.
If the “red-whites” in Istanbul and Tel Aviv (and partially with Asteras in SEF) find their lost defensive identity, we will see that in the next games as well. The doubles match in Spain showed an obvious improvement in this part, which translated numerically into a passive 68.5 pence, while in the previous set of three games lost their opponents scored 84.9 pence!
The 62 pence he received at the ‘Fernando Buesa Arena’ is Olympiacos’ second-best defensive tally, after the 50 that Basconia accidentally gave him back in the first round game (regular-season debut).
He found the other constants
The stability of the defense is very fundamental for this year’s Olympiakos, who set up whatever he wants in the other half from the back of the field. On the other hand, the constants that are the same everywhere in physics (in the set) appear again and again and on an individual level. It is logical that after the covid hit, strength and energy wanes, but slowly everyone is returning to where they were before the virus found them.
- Mustafa Fal is one of them, we’ve been seeing him since the beginning of the year. The French center has regained his strength and in Vitoria he was a real breakwater, with two blocks and five or six shots that drove Baskonia away from the noise of the guests. The offensive rebound (Olympiakos’ first of the game) that Dorsey scored to make it 60-70 and finally sealed the game was his icing on the cake on that night of victory in the Basque Country.
- Tyler Dorsey also returned to highs, hitting 17p, in a performance he apparently sought with (sometimes) energetic pull on the pitch. It was the mistake the Greek-American didn’t make this time as he usually made the right pick and shot 6/10 shots.
Woookup is still stealing
Thomas Wookap also spoke about the staff at the stadium. Of course, the American, who scored a three-pointer like he lost in Madrid, didn’t elaborate on what happened two nights ago. He made one of the best matches wearing the Olympiakos jersey, violently falling on every player he tagged (mainly Baldwin) and stealing balls with the scoop.
The blonde security guard got a little rematch of himself which shows how useful he is at this year’s Olympics. Remember the picture of last year’s team’s vulnerable peripheral defenses, especially when faced with dynamic guards? Woookup is the main cause of the transformation this season…
And Papanikolaou shoots at three
The good functioning of the defense also put the name of Costas Papanikolaou in a prominent position. The international striker seems… an idiot when Olympiacos close the doors to his opponents. He puts his hands all over the place, gets rebounds, corrects mistakes and that’s why there’s usually a defensive problem when he’s not on the ground.
Only this time “Pap” was aggressively present. Four (in four) threes while Basconia tried to threaten to equalize or even pass in front of goal. The “bombshells” reminded him of Papanikolaou in 2012-13, when he finished with 52% three-pointers in an exciting year that eventually sent him to Barcelona (and then the NBA).
At 32, the international ace seems more mature than ever and knows the job very well. And a lot depends on his own shot, as long as he carries on with the same confidence.
Add to that another great performance from Sasha Vezenkov, who remains the team’s most stable player from the start. Olympiakos started off with fast attacks, with good circulation that seemed to have fallen by the wayside by the end of the half (only 2 assists). In the second half (10 final passes), the ball rolled better, Sloukas made the right decisions and took advantage of his teammates.
The “Red-Whites” finally got what they were looking for, they got their 4th away win, but they will need more, possibly in more difficult games. Euroleague doubles have started, possibly more than 18 wins are needed to qualify for the playoffs, which seems to be the limit. Next Thursday’s fight against Efes is a very crucial game as the Turks have launched their counterattack to enter the octave.
Another win will keep them good in the playoffs but send them into the last four of the following cup with one more breath.
Source: sport24
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
Mustafa Fal has delivered a monstrous performance in international matches and Vassilis Skoundis is tackling the problem, inevitably involving the first teacher of the art, Panagiotis Fassoulas.
“The gypsy saw his generation and his heart rejoiced,” says a proverb whose meaning fits the occasion… I mean, the occasion of Fal seeing the other Fal opposite him and enjoying him normally and in accordance with the law!
Let the necessary recommendations be made…
One of them is Mustafa Fal, who was born in Paris on February 23, 1992, he is French, he plays in his country’s national team, his hat comes from Senegal, he has been looking since he was 2.18. He is in his third season at Olympiacos…
Yusufa and Taco
The other person who competed against him yesterday is Youssoufa Fal, who was born in Dakar on January 12, 1995, is a Senegalese with French nationality, has a height of 2.21 m and is competing in Villerban for the third consecutive time…
There is of course the much wilder Taco Fal, who was also born in Dakar on December 10, 1995, spent three seasons in the NBA, is now sizzling in China and has had his head tickling the feet of God since he was 229 cm tall!
Mustafa, Yusufa and Tako have no relationship or kinship between them: they are synonymous, apart from the coincidence that ensures that they are all three kilometers long!
The triple-double figure in Pylaia
He had attacked the Olympiacos central defender again on the 11th of last month, on the occasion of the triple-double he scored in the game against PAOK in Pylaia, rare in our area, but he wanted to make us laugh for a while as his only goal!
At first he missed Yannis Fileris who treated him properly, but I also have some stitches for his fur!
To say my sin, I laughed and liked Fileris’ pun on… Wrong!
Fasoulas and… Lumidis
In any case, “Pani” was like…Lumidis in the field of coffee roasting, plus he made heads turn with soft nails with his unique and unparalleled skills.
To paraphrase Lumidis’ advertising slogan: in our case it was “Everyone in their own way and Fasoulas in their caps“!
Since the conversation broke out, the experienced PAOK and Olympiacos international center has recorded five triple-doubles with points, rebounds and blocks, which are of course rarer than those that include assists.
He scored the first of these goals on October 15, 1988 (PAOK-Panionios) with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 13 blocks.
Two weeks later he “wrote” the second with 20-18-11 against Apollon Patras, on November 19 he followed the third against Sporting (29-19-15), while in the 1990/91 season he added two more: 18 – 14-10 with Peristeri and 19-12-11 with Iraklis.
Vrankovic’s record and the “wow” with Green
Similar triple feats with plugs have also been achieved by Stojan Vrankovic (who is already the record holder in EuroLeague history with 10 in a Fortitudo Bologna-Cibona Zagreb game) with Panathinaikos, Anthony Cook with PAOK, Mike Smrek with Dafni, PJ Brown with Panionios, Efthymis Renzias with the National Youth Team and Antonis Fotsis with the Greens youth team.
On Friday night in Lyon, Fall broke the bank when he nearly followed in Draymond Green’s footsteps and posted a rare triple-double without scoring in double figures.
He reached the final horn with two points, seven rebounds, seven assists and eight blocks, while the Warriors’ cocky forward did so on February 10, 2017 against the Grizzlies with 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals and just two points.
From 0.8 to 8
Fal had grabbed 14 rebounds in the game against Red Star while he dished out seven assists in the game against Baskonia, so there is no news here…
The wave was caused by the eight caps, because on the one hand there are a lot of them and on the other hand the so-called do not have a big problem with davtes.
Before the game with Villerban, he had taken 12 shots in 14 games, and suddenly he flashed and thundered from a 0.8 average to eight!
What is the key quality a good blocker should have?
The cap for Moretti, the timing and the caps
Instead of answering, I’ll give the floor to a specialist and expert, none other than Panagiotis Fasoulas, who, among other things, scored the most decisive international match in the history of Olympiacos!
I am referring to the match against Paolo Moretti in the third game of the European Champions Cup playoff series in the 10993/94 season, thanks to which Piraeus qualified for the Final 4 in Tel Aviv.
“Everything is a question of timing“he explained to me when I asked him how he cultivated and developed his art.
“You need to know and understand where, when and how to jump to block the opponent’s shot. In addition to this sense of space and time, speed of movement and long arms also play a role. I did the caps and even covered the ball so we could go straight to attack” explains Fasoulas, who is already drawing the moral lesson of the story…
“Attack requires talent, but defense depends on will.”
The spider web
Last but not least, this desire flowed from the… gums of Fasoula, who went out and trapped his opponents in the spider’s web from which no one could escape.
From his appearance in the early 80s until his retirement in 1999, he reduced defense not only to a science, but to a spectacular spectacle!
Source: sport 24
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
Matias Lessor received hundreds of interesting messages from friends of Panathinaikos AKTOR about his injury and quickly explained what the situation is.
Matias Lessor’s injury was the only black mark in the game against Armani Milano. For this very reason, the people of Panathinaikos AKTOR didn’t enjoy it as much as they would have liked. At least until they received the results of the sports high school exams.
The day after the game, it became clear that the problem was not serious. However, Matias Lessor explained in detail how he feels after his injury and thanked everyone for their interest.
Matias Lesor’s message in detail:
“Thank you everyone for your lovely messages and your interest. I’m feeling much better. It just hurts, but I’m fine“.
Source: sport 24
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
End of alert for Matias Lesor at Panathinaikos AKTOR. The French center has a bad back due to the injury and will miss tomorrow’s (December 24th) game against Prometheus in Patras (20:15, ERT3 and LIVE on Sportish), but his tests were clear.
Matias Lesor will play in tomorrow’s (December 24th) away game of Panathinaikos AKTOR against Prometheus (8:15 p.m., 3 a.m. and LIVE from Sportish) on matchday 11 of the Stoiximan Basket League due to the lower back injury he sustained in this game , do not compete Armani Milano. But he escaped the worst.
The French center was tested immediately after the return of the “Greens” from Milan, who were “clean”. In other words, they didn’t show that the bone was broken in the middle – which everyone feared when they saw the Frenchman slaughtered on the ground. But Lesor is still in pain, ruling him out of the game against Prometheus and considered doubtful for next week’s EuroLeague game against Red Star.
With Lesor out, Oleg Balcherovski, Kostas Antetokounmpo and Dinos Mitoglou will fill the center position in the game against Prometheus.
Source: sport 24
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
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