By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Behind late defensive stops, Olympiacos beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, 94-80, to clinch home-court advantage in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs Friday evening.
Sasha Vezenkov banked in 12 of his 18 points after the break and produced a double-double adding ten rebounds to his tally. Kostas Sloukas poured all of his 15 points in the second half and dished out nine assists. Tyler Dorsey put in a game-high 21 points in the Regular Season Round 32 contest at Astroballe.
“We are very happy because with this win we log the home-court advantage,” said Vezenkov, “Our big goal was the top eight, but making the top four, we’re really proud and really happy for ourselves.”
After two losses in a row on the road, including Tuesday’s visit at AS Monaco, the Greek outfit produced the first double-digit advantage in the fourth period. Confidently holding on improved its record to 18-9. T.J. Parker’s side dropped to 8-18 with the fifth straight EuroLeague defeat in Villeurbanne.
“Olympiacos is a great team. They play great basketball. You see the way they move the ball; simple plays, but all about reads,” noted the losing head coach, “So you’ve got to give credit to Olympiacos.”
Resting Victor Wembanyama, Charles Kahudi, Paul Lacombe, James Gist, and William Howard ahead of the French Cup, the hosts featured youngster Zaccharie Risacher. A couple of weeks before turning 17, he connected his first three EuroLeague points in the second quarter. First EuroLeague points for Raymar Morgan as well. Recovered from a back injury, the experienced big man logged 12 points in his debut. Besides the EuroLeague achievement, it was his first game for ASVEL and overall in the 2021-22 season as well.
“We knew they had a game tomorrow and they rested some players. But for us and for me, it was the most important game of the season because today we achieved a really good achievement with the home-court advantage,” explained Sloukas, “I think we played solid for 40 minutes, we took good decisions on offense, and we won a very crucial game.”
Marcos Knight exiting early in the third quarter due to a left foot injury reduced available players for the home side to ten. Parker’s starter was among the top performers with seven points, four rebounds, and one assist to his name. Matthew Strazel matched his season-high 16 points in the loss.
In a long weekend for the French outfit, the domestic Cup Quarterfinals are coming right up. ASVEL will meet BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque tomorrow night at Arena Loire. A potential win would generate a third game in as many days, staying at Traloze and looking to clinch a berth in the Final Sunday.
The Reds actually captured the 2022 Greek Cup in February. Seeking to jump to 15-1 in Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League, they will host Peristeri Monday before in turn welcoming FC Barcelona at the Peace and Friendship Stadium to complete the EuroLeague Regular Season next Friday.
“It is a big time for our club because we are taking the home-court advantage, which is unbelievable,” underlined Giorgos Bartzokas, “I am so grateful to our fans, who follow us all over Europe, to our players, and to our organization. We have one more game with Barcelona on our homecourt, and then we are going to push ourselves to make whatever we can in the Playoffs.”