By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
These last weeks haven’t exactly been pretty for Olympiacos in EuroLeague. Last season’s finalists craved not only for a win in tonight’s match vs Fenerbahce for Round 21 of the regular season but something much more. A convincing performance, an emphatic presence that would show that the team has the steel needed to reach another Final Four tournament.
And who better to jumpstart his squad’s engine other than the captain himself? Vassilis Spanoulis scored 14 out of his season-high 19 points in the first quarter, leading Olympiacos to 95 – 70 blowout victory over the defending champions in a packed “Peace and Friendship” Arena in Piraeus.
His “mojo” was precisely what the Reds needed. Because not only had they lost their last two games, against Khimki Moscow and Crvena Zvezda on the road, plus the Greek League derby vs arch-rival Panathinaikos, but they often performed lackluster, poorly executed basketball, especially on the offensive end. That was not the case this time since Spanoulis took care of things by setting the tone early.
Spanoulis’ electric entrance was the main reason why the Reds took an impressive 34 – 18 lead at the end of the first quarter to never feel threatened in the remainder of the game.
The three-time EuroLeague champion and Final Four MVP also delivered some key plays on both in the mid of the third quarter to help his team cement a safe double-digit advantage.
When Bobby Dixon banged one 3-pointer after the other in an effort to inspire his teammates in the Turkish squad towards a potential comeback, Spanoulis drained the long-range bucket to make it 57 – 43 five minutes into the second half.
Long range shooting was generally Olympiacos‘ forte tonight since they finished with a phenomenal 13/17 from beyond the arc. Wasn’t much Fenerbahce could do against such a number.
Dixon, as always, was persistent (he ultimately finished with a season-high 24 points) but then Janis Strelnieks provided his own boost to Oly’s offense with consecutive buckets that preserved them a strong lead.
The Latvian guard notched a season-high 19 points plus 4 rebounds and 3 assists, keeping his promise he made in his pre-game comments, about wanting to show that “he can still play basketball”.
He and Olympiacos definitely gave plenty of answers tonight, climbing to a 14 – 7 record in EuroLeague. Fenerbahce saw its five-game winning record coming to an end in an inglorious fashion but remain high in the standings with 14 – 7 as well.