By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
With six minutes to remaining in the Euroleague game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Olimpia Milano, the Reds had taken a 66 – 47 lead and stole yet another out of 14 balls overall, looking to successfully complete one of their many transition plays.
Dunker extraordinaire Shaq McKissic was dribbling toward the rim on a wide-open runway and was clear for takeoff. There was a ripe opportunity for the Olympiacos wing to throw down one of his usual hammers as he had done, spectacularly, in the game before.
Instead, McKissic selflessly handed the ball to teammate and injury returnee Sasha Vezenkov who was coming from behind so that he may deliver the slam himself.
“That’s my little brother,” McKissic told Eurohoops. “I have to make sure he’s happy. We are on the fast break. I see him not having his best game because it’s his first match back after his injury. So I want to make sure he’s comfortable.”
This sequence perfectly illustrated the strong camaraderie of this Olympiacos team that was visible several times during the 82 – 66 win over Milano. It was displayed even more in the fourth period in particular when the hosts pulled off multiple successful stops to finish with easy baskets in counterattacks.
Olympiacos‘ players were quite animated and expressive when they loudly celebrated their teammates’ baskets and were communicating by speaking with pretty positive body language. The finale of the match found them registering their 11th victory over 17 games of the first leg of the EuroLeague regular season and joining a party of five at the top of the standings.
“It was a fun mood out there tonight,” McKissic commented. “We were able to impose our will and that was fun.”
“We didn’t want the pressure that if we win we’re moving to first place,” he added. “We just came out and do what we always do and enjoy the game. The biggest thing was to not lose the lead in the fourth quarter. Like some other times. We just want to do what we need to do.”
This wasn’t the most productive game for McKissic this season so far but was possibly one of his top two-way performances. Apart from his nine points (on 4-7 shots), he was a high-energy fireball overall that provided his team’s defensive machine with an extra spark.
“Yeah, you know. It’s all about finding my rhythm,” McKissic said. “Nothing of it matters. You just have to go out there and do what the coach asks. You’re going to have good games, you’re going to have bad games, good stretches, bad stretches. Overall, you just have to keep going.”
This victory over Milano was quite the followup to the away rout at OAKA against archrival Panathinaikos. While this game always holds a special significance to fans, McKissic looks at it as an important result away from home that his team really needed after two straight losses to ASVEL Villeurbanne and Crvena Zvezda.
“For me, it’s just another road win,” McKissic commented. “Other times it’s a really big rivalry. We won the game impressively so I can’t really sit here and say that this game was ‘everything’. Of course, in the beginning, it’s always everything. Looking back it was just a really good Euroleague road win. I’m sure next time they’re going to come out fighting, make it really difficult.
“It’s a match with huge implications. You never know how people are going to come out and react.”