By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Third-from-last in the standings Gran Canaria has been eliminated for playoffs contention many rounds ago. They were widely the considered underdog against an Olympiacos that greatly needed to win in order to get closer to clinching a postseason spot, with three games remaining in the regular season.
Still, it was the Spanish side that not only got the victory but triumphed in the match. Marcus Eriksson scored 24 points in 17:23 and Gran Canaria routed Olympiacos 90 – 67.
While Gran Canaria bid farewell to its fans in the last EuroLeague home game this season in a sensational fashion, the Greek team got into potential trouble regarding their playoffs pursue.
Olympiacos is now 14 – 14 and needs to make the 2-out-of-2 vs. Darussafaka Tekfen and Zalgiris Kaunas at home in the matches, plus Panathinaikos or Baskonia to lose at least one match. The Reds own the tiebreaker against both.
Gran Canaria controlled the game from start to finish vs. an Olympiacos squad that lacked Vassilis Spanoulis and Janis Strelnieks. They led 40 – 30 at halftime and proceeded to impose their will after the break, establishing their dominance with a 29 – 16 third period. Apart from Eriksson, Siim Sander-Vene scored 14 and DJ Strawberry 13 vs. his former team.
The visiting squad didn’t show any signs of life, struggling to make shots (4/16 3-pointers) and generally executing poorly on offense (nine assists/15 turnovers). Briante Weber (13 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals but also seven turnovers) and Axel Toupane (12 points) were the only Oly players in double figures.