By Eurohoops team/info@eurohoops.net
With a tremendous performance in the second half (30-42), Olympiacos beat Cedevita 83-70 on the road, despite playing without four key players. This was the fourth straight victory for the Reds and the fifth one in group B (5-1), whereas the Croatians saw their three-game winning streak coming to an end (3-3). The Greeks played without Vasilis Spanoulis and Giorgos Printezis, but they had many more options.
Othello Hunter was unstoppable with 19 points and eight rebounds, with three more players being in double digits. On the other hand, Jacob Pulen was the top scorer for the losing squad with 13 points, as Miro Bilan added 10 points and eight rebounds.
In the beginning, Cedevita had control of the game and although Olympiacos was managing to remain close, the Croatians retained a small lead until the end of the first quarter (24-21), based on their high percentage from the three-point range (5/11, 45%). Later, two more three-pointers let Cedevita extend its lead (30-24), but the Greeks responded steadily, played better on both ends of the floor and ended the first half in front by just one (40-41), with a 10-17 run.
In the second half, the Reds made a great start. With a 14-3 run, they took a 12-point advantage (43-55), executing very well both defensively and offensively. Cedevita’s players, though, made a 13-6 run of their own and were down by five points (56-61), with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter. But, a crucial three-point shot from Yiannis Athinaiou at the buzzer let Olympiacos take an eight-point advantage after 30 minutes in the game (56-64). In the last quarter, Yiannis Sfairopoulos’ players were retaining a steady advantage (61-69, 64-72), despite the Croatians’ efforts efforts to cut the deficit. Α 7-0 run enabled Olympiacos to bring their lead back to double digits (64-79), with three minutes to go and the Reds claimed a crucial victory on the road (70-83), as Cedevita was unable to make a big come-back.