By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was a big fight, as expected, but in the end, Olympiacos made things easy and got the 79-69 win over Real Madrid to get back on track.
The two teams faced each other for the first time after last season’s Final Four semifinal and the Reds had more weapons, including former MVP Sasha Vezenkov who scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the team and all my teammates like Shaq, Alex (Peters), or Nigel (Williams-Goss)”, said Vezenkov noting also the return of Williams-Goss to action.
Olympiacos and Real Madrid are now tied in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings at 3-3 and for the Greeks, this result was also a big moral boost after losing on Sunday to their “eternal rival” Panathinaikos on the same court for the Greek League.
“It’s great that we had a full house after the result against Panathinaikos and the win also belongs to our fans”, said coach Giorgos Bartzokas.
Shaq McKissic added 15 points, was huge in the fourth quarter, and grabbed nine rebounds, Thomas Walkup had 12 points and Evan Fournier scored 10.
For Madrid, Mario Hezonja with 15 points and Gabriel Deck with 12 were the only scorers in double digits.
A fourth quarter to remember
Real Madrid opened the game leading 21-17 after the first period and Olympiacos took back the lead at halftime (36-34).
It was ugly and a big fight with Madrid entering the last period up by three (59-56). Everyone expected the game to be decided on details, but that was not the case.
Olympiacos dominated the fourth quarter with a partial score of 23-10 and McKissic scored 10 of Olympiacos’ 23 points. In a close game for 30 minutes, Olympiacos managed to built in the end a double-digit lead.
It couldn’t get much better for the hosts who will play against the EuroLeague leaders Barcelona on the same court in two days.
Photo credit: EuroLeague