By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos Piraeus beat Baskonia 80-70 at home in a potentially decisive game in the race for the EuroLeague playoffs. Both teams had entered the match tied 8-13 and at a two-win distance from the postseason zone, and ultimately the hosts made a step forward.
Augustine Rubit scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Olympiacos while draining a key 3-pointer to put the “Reds” up 74 – 62 with 2:09 remaining. “I feel great for my performance, but more important is we got the win,” said Rubit. “I am happy about that. It as very important just to finish the season. Our goal is to make the top eight, and the only way to do it is to win games. So, forget the past and win every game from here on out.”
Vassilis Spanoulis added 16 points on 4/5 triples plus four assists while Octavius Ellis posted 11 points and seven rebounds in 19:16 in his EuroLeague debut.
Ellis also scored the layup for the 76 – 65 with 1:38 to play. Spanoulis then “iced” the win with a basket of his own.
Nik Stauskas (14 points, 11 of them in the second half), Tornike Shengelia (14 points, seven rebounds) and Shavon Shields (14 points) scored in double figures for Baskonia. Dusko Ivanovic’s team traveled to Greece minus guards Pierria Henry and Luca Vildoza. Their opponents were without forward Giorgos Printezis who was suffering from back pains.
Olympiacos first took a double-digit lead early in the second half thanks to a 7-0 run that put the Greek side up 50 – 40. The hosts proceeded to retain an advantage that was increased to 14, 69 – 55, three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Baskonia cut its deficit to single digits thanks to a triple by Matt Janning. The American wing then had a chance to make it a two-possession game but misfired in his wide-open attempt from the corner with 2:31 left. Rubit didn’t, on the other end, to keep his team at a safe distance.
In memory of Antonis Dais
It was a tough week for the Olympiacos organization following the loss of assistant manager Antonis Dais, who died of a heart attack at 56. Dais worked in Olympiacos; management in various positions since 1992.
As Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas said: “I would like to congratulate my players, and also the fans. Because every victory is very important, we cannot underestimate anybody or any victory. This was a tough game, Baskonia is a great team, they have talent and size, and we needed to play well. More or less, we needed more stability. We could have won this game more easily if we did not turn the ball over when we had a difference of more than 10 points. But I am very happy; it was a tough week for us. We lost the oldest member of our team [Antonis Dais], and emotionally, it was a tough week for us.”
Olympiacos saw Vassilis Charalampopoulos getting injured during the game. It was later announced the Greek forward will need ankle surgery and he is expected to stay out of action at least for two and a half months.