Euro League
Olympiacos is losing victories at its own hands and is looking for causes and solutions
The candles extinguished by Hackett, Dobrich as Banky’s hidden ace and Olympiakos looking for wins to change the flow of losing games through his hands. Written by Yannis Fileris
Will the season finally end and Olympiacos will not have realized how out of control it has gotten? It is too early to predict inglorious endings and total disasters. But for now, 2023 is coming to an end and the “Red and Whites” are wondering what the hell is going on and are losing their own games, like the one in Bologna. They led for most of the game and appeared to be in control, even as Virtus tried to regain control, but as if by magic they suffered their eighth defeat in 15 games.
On his 36th birthday, Daniel Hackett blew out the candles on his cake and pinched his former team when he scored the winning basket for Virtus with 41 minutes to play. He had previously stolen the ball from Petrusev’s hands to bring it to the point, and after the game-winning basket he decisively parried Thomas’ walkup and thus received a valuable offensive foul.
And yet, at the start of the fourth period, a basket from Mustafa Fal brought Olympiakos Piraeus to +10, and everyone believed that the “Red and Whites” would easily or not easily score a big one-two. Despite Bologna’s reaction in the third quarter and the outbursts of the players of the class that it has, it was Piraeus that remained firmly in control.
The X factor that changed the facts was called Ognien Dobrich. The 29-year-old guard, who has spent his entire life at Red Star and is playing away from Belgrade for the first time this year, seemed like a stick fan and more than justified the loose translation of his last name: Good! What’s good? The left-handed Serb was outstanding, scoring all ten of his points in the crucial fourth quarter. Almost half of the total 22 copies of Virtus during this period.
Dobrich was very… good
Without Dobrich, it would be hard for the ardent Virtus fans to smile in the end. Luca Banki had the ace up his sleeve while the rest of his regional team – and not only – were suffocated by Olympiakos’ tough and efficient defense. Belinelli had to accept 12p (on 4/12 shots), Lundberg had 2/8 and even Cordinier, who had started the game with 7p until the 6th minute, was silent thereafter (with another six in 34 minutes).
Olympiacos was read, had the lanes closed and forced Virtus, with more than 85 points and 55% on two-point shots, to finish the match with 69p and a success rate of just 38.1%!
The Italian team’s top scorer, Toco Sengelia, had scored just 6 points on a seventh-round shootout, 11 fewer than his season average. At the same time, Olympiakos’ two big players, Mustafa Fal and Nikola Milutinov, proved to be rather insurmountable obstacles for the Italian defense and the “Red and Whites” had a great first half with 40 points. Even though their attack stalled in the replay, first Kanan and then Larentzakis had made big three-point throws to ensure Olympiakos stayed on top while Bologna pushed to get closer…
Virtue also in defense…
So Dobrich. The time has come when Bologna looked for an additional solution. The player who would change the course of the game at the most critical moment. The 7 points he collected in the singles 13-5 of Virtus put the game in the basket (from the +10 of Olympiakos) and thus the Italians got back into the game.
But virtus means virtue. And if Bologna had a basketball virtue in this game, it was certainly its adaptation to the data given by the opponent. Banki’s naturally aggressive team understood that they had to respond to the visitors. Is Olympiacos tough? She’s tougher. There was a lot of play in the second half and the Italians threw, sometimes even with the acquiescence of the referees.
Markant Walkup, who finished with 1/6 shots, only 1 assist and 2 turnovers, proved to be a decisive factor. Banki, like most coaches who have faced Olympiacos since the start of the year, was targeting Peters and Kanan. Bartzokas expected this and ensured that the rotation was expanded, as the diversity in his team’s squad now allows him to do.
Goss played a full twenty minutes, Petrusev came off the bench for nearly twelve minutes, and Larentzakis and Brazdeikis shared a “2” to give Kanan some breathing room, but he was hot in the second period, making two of his team’s three three-pointers.
The truth is that this time the bench helped, although with some “buts” that seem reasonable since the team has not yet achieved full synchronization. Gos moved the ball well, provided pace and assists (7), but was on goal (1/5 shots), while Olympiacos also relies heavily on their points. Petrusev showed all his talent in his second appearance, but lost the ball due to Hackett’s intervention at a crucial point shortly before the end.
But here too, Olympiacos Piraeus could have emerged victorious had Peters scored one of the three points he missed (0/4), three of which went to the American, his 50% from the 6.75m line like…penalty kick. Giannoulis Larentzakis, who had already shot big threes throughout the game, was also able to make the final shot and try to secure the win at the end of the game. Or it could have been equalized by Walkup, who had the opportunity for a layup but preferred a pass to the Greek international.
This is how he will recover…
The truth is that Olympiacos played to… win against one of the best teams in the competition. He executed his plan well until he felt the pressure of Bologna and became more anxious than usual. Since his balance sheet is now in the red, he must above all remain calm because his prospects are still there.
The return of the injured or the addition of players will slowly shape a different team than the one we saw for most of the first round. Soon Elaiza Mitrou Long comes into play, another great solution from the periphery.
At this moment, however, what is needed above all is victories so that no more ground is lost. The two upcoming away games look like a chance for recovery as Olympiacos face Villeurbanne and Alba in succession. Of course, no match is easy. Barcelona, which lost in Berlin, also understood this…
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.
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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