Also in the EuroLeague Olympiacos would have an advantage with the Russians

A game before fulfilling their regular-season commitments, Olympiacos have fully achieved their goals. Not only is he returning to the playoffs after three years, but he also has home field advantage en route to the Final Four. The seal went to Astrobal in Lyon, against Villeurbanne. Fourth or third will depend on what he will do in his last game, next Friday against Barcelona, ​​​​​​but also against Milan in the three upcoming games.

For a team that started with a basic quest to get into the octave, success is a given. Consistently from the first game, he obviously had some ups and downs due to the extreme conditions (coronavirus, people, game postponements etc.), but he was able to stay on top, overcoming hurdles and hurdles. Often he even played quality basketball.

The “Red-Whites” would be in the top four even if the Russian teams played until the end of this season. We remind you that they were denied a win (this one away against Kazan) while they had to face all three clubs at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

That means 18 wins from four home games (the three against the Russians and one against Barcelona) and the prospect of +20 wins, which based on previous years’ data offered a head start towards the playoffs.

Nothing was donated to this year’s European Olympic Games. Last season, from the very beginning, served to correct mistakes, the team improved its weaknesses, slowly gained the trust of its people and the recognition of opponents. It’s not perfect, but it has some of the aura of the past and it looked boldly to its future, in what has been a great season considering it started without the totem leader of the last decade, Vassilis Spanoulis.

Bartzokas and his players (and of course the administration) are credited with this journey, which is still ongoing, or rather, reaching its climax. The playoffs are coming, an opponent is emerging, maybe European champions Anadolu Efes, maybe Maccabi, or some other surprise. What is certain is that Olympiacos will have the people and power of SEF close by, where so far they have only been beaten by the Red Star and in games with special routines due to the coronavirus and empty stands.

After scoring the first goal completely, he knows that anything more can take him to the Final Four in Belgrade. However, one after the other. Only at the end of the year against champions Barcelona, ​​​​then the opponent who will emerge in April, the Final Four.

The bottom line is that Olympiacos are regaining their European profile after three years of decline. The club needed him, his people, his people who had almost forgotten what it was like to play and win at your best. The team has been on a winning streak, has returned to the arenas very forcefully and is ready to give it all in the playoffs.

Coincidentally, in 2018, when he last moved into the “8”, the Final Four was held in Belgrade. Opposite him were the wealthy Zalgiris of Sara Jasikevicius, Pangos, Davis and Mitsic, who broke SEF’s seat and qualified for the Final Four. However, those who remember the details do not forget the enormous injury problems that almost decimated him.

Stefan’s son…

The victory that sealed qualification took place in a historic stadium. Villeurbanne HQ, who played against Olympiakos with a special contract composition, has ASVEL… a match cap for the French Cup and quarter-final stage against Gravelin as of today Saturday (26.3). TJ Parker kept some players out of the dozen (some like County and Howard are injured).

Zakari Rizase was also against Olympiakos. French TV cameras captured father Stefan, who wore the Olympiakos shirt for two years 20 years ago, with an average of 11.5 pence and 45% in the three-pointer. An excellent (and very fast) striker, one of the most underrated foreigners of all time for the “Red-Whites”.

His petite son, who scored a corner kick in the first half, is not even 17 years old. He was born on April 8, 2005, he has a lot of talent, and his father was proud of the Astrobal stands. Villeurbanne also had Tony Parker’s brother on the bench, Giannis Antitokoumbo on the floor and Fal… Savior (and namesake).

No worries though with Okobo flying low but the demon Strazel or Germany’s Dylan Ostekowski on alert and former ‘Green’ Reymar Morgan in his first appearance for the year after his long absence through injury, the hosts had 7/13 three-pointers in the first half which caused some problems in the not so strong Olympiacos defence.

At some point, in the first ten minutes, the game actually seemed to end, and the three-pointers rained down. Tyler Dorsey took over the baton from Costas Papanikolaou and together they held the bosses. Olympiakos stayed in the bay but couldn’t get the differences that would give him any hint of victory.

Sloukas broke up with…

Dorsey was on a good night (21p-7p), Vezenkov made another double-double (18p-10p) but the one who put an end to Villeurbanne’s ‘challenge’ was Costas Sloukas. Olympiakos’ defense, without being perfect, had greatly improved by blocking the ball’s movement, hence the free three-point shots.

The international playmaker took charge after a rather ‘mediocre’ first part (0/2tr, 5 assists), put all his points (15), shared four more finishing passes and was the one who finally turned the knob for dominance of his team, that would either easily or hardly achieve victory. Olympiacos eventually secured the away advantage for Belgrade’s Stark Arena.

One such season last year he retired from racing, forced to prepare for the season to come very soon. A year later, he’s ready to make it into the Final Four, he’s won the cup and he’s also thinking about the championship title. Everything is different.