Villeurbanne – Olympiakos 80-94: The quartet “banned” at the Astroballe.

Costas Sloukas was on the gas from the 25th minute and then Sasha Vezenkov and Tyler Dorsey ended all phases in the last third and together led Olympiakos to home advantage in the EuroLeague playoffs. Giorgos Bartzokas’ team clinched victory over Villeurbanne at Astroballe (94-80) and ensured qualification for the Final Four in Belgrade goes beyond SEF after securing a place in the top four overall – it stays at home against Barcelona in a week.

The red-whites know that the most likely scenario is one that puts them 4th in the ranking (apparently towards Anantolou Efes), but at the same time they look higher and essentially count on Armani Milano cumulative defeats.

The MVP

Sasha Vezenkov did a great job in defense and attack, he didn’t lose a second that was left on the ground from 31’04”. Especially in the closing stages, when he scored critical baskets to ‘clear away’ victory for Olympiacos. The left-hander finished the match with 18 points (with 6/9 two points, 2/5 three points), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 error.

The weak link

He wasn’t the only one for Villeurbanne, who – especially given the absences – had certainly expected more from Eli Okobo and Chris Jones. The French team’s two heavyweights, on the other hand, had just 6 points with 3/11 two points and 0/2 three points.

The stat that stood out

To claim victory in France, Olympiacos saw three players in attack doing the most work. The Big Three, consisting of Costas Sloukas, Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov, scored 54 of the Red and Whites’ 94 points.

The race

The way Olympiacos came into play showed that everyone realized what had gone wrong at the Salle Gaston Medecin two nights earlier. But very quickly the +8 (2-10 in 3′) made wings. Despite the fact that Eli Okombo and Chris Jones missed (they had 1/6 shots in the first ten minutes), Villeurbanne found a way to react and worry Giorgos Bartzokas’ team. who was he? The three hands. TJ Parker’s players had 5/7 threes in the first period, with Mathieu Strazel losing (26-26 in 10 minutes).

With Tyler Dorsey and Costas Papanikolaou setting the pace for attack, all that remained was to improve on defense. How was it thanks those who appeared from the bank. The Red-Whites recovered and reached +7 (35-42 in 18′), with Livio Jean Charles giving 8 points (with 3/3 two points and 2/2 shots) in 7’18” of attendance to defeat the first to close partial beings at +4 (43-47).

The Bra de fer continued well into the third ten minutes. You see, even when Olympiakos returned to +7 (43-50 in 22 minutes), Villeurbanne recovered very quickly and got to shooting range (51-52 in 25 minutes) while Mathieu Strazel did the rest for the French team. With Villeurbanne proving to be extremely competitive and mentally strong (despite the many absentees and Marcos Knight’s injury), Costas Sloukas made a step forward at the right time. With 9 points from the 26th to the 30th minute of the game, the left-hander gave what George Bartzokas needed until the +5 (64-69) of the 30th minute.

As time went on, Olympiacos indicated that there would be no further discussions. His defense became noticeably more effective, Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov showing off their exuberant attacking talent on the Astroballe floor and somehow leading the Greeks to +11 (74-85) in the 37th minute. A difference against which Villeurbanne no longer had the strength and the possibilities to challenge him.

The win ended in Red and White hands, along with home field advantage in the playoffs.

THE REFEREES: Latisevs-Pereth-Dragojević.

THE TEN MINUTES: 26-26, 43-47, 64-69, 80-94.

VILLARBAN (Parker): Okobo 2 (1/6 shots, 5 assists, 3 errors), Morgan 12 (6/10 two points, 0/1 three points), Jones 4 (2/7 shots), Dio 6 (2/5 three points), Knight 7 (1), Risache 7 (1), Fal 12 (5/5 two points, 2/2 shots), Osetkovski 11 (1), Light (0/2 two points), Strazel 16 (5 /9 three points, 4 assists), Antitokunbo 7 (1).

OLYMPIC (Bartzokas): Wookup 2 (4 assists, 3 steals, 3 errors), Dorsey 21 (6/9 two points, 3/6 three points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Larentzakis 2, Fal 9 (2/2 two points , 5/6 shots), Sloukas 15 (3/7 two points, 2/4 three points, 3/3 shots, 9 assists, 4 errors), Martin 2, Vezenkov 18 (6/9 two points, 2/5 three points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists), Printezis 2 (1/4 shot, 2 assists), Papanikolaou 11 (3/3 three points), Jean Charles 8 (3/3 two points, 2/2 shots), McKissick 4.

Group Stats – Villeurbanne: 19/39 two points, 11/23 three points, 9/13 shots, 24 rebounds (18 defensive + 6 offensive), 21 assists, 9 steals, 12 errors, 2 blocks.

Team Stats – Olympiacos: 26/40 two points, 10/21 three points, 12/15 shots, 35 rebounds (27 defensive + 8 offensive), 25 assists, 6 steals, 13 errors, 1 block.

The next commitments of the two teams: Olympiakos conclude the regular season next week with the home game against Barcelona (1.4., 21:00). For his part, Villeurbanne still has games with Maccabi Tel Aviv (outside) and Armani Milano (inside).