By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos started the battle for the first trophy of the season in a convincing manner, defeating Peristeri 84-64 in the Greek Super Cup semifinal.
Nikola Milutinov had a double-double in his first official game upon returning to the club with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Another returnee, Nigel Williams Goss, also added 16 points, while the captain Kostas Papanikolaou finished in double digits as well, scoring 12 points.
Peristeri showed solid resistance in certain moments of the game, with Jaylen Hands leading the team with an impressive performance. The former PAOK guard scored 24 points with seven rebounds and showed that he’ll be a formidable addition to Vasilis Spanoulis’ squad.
Kenny Williams with 12, and Nemanja Dagubic with 11 points were the only ones managing to keep up with him.
Olympiacos was pretty much in control from the very beginning, opening the game with an assertive 16-3 run. Peristeri fought back and briefly took the lead in the second period, but the Piraeus team got back on the right track after halftime and eventually pulled away in the middle of the final period.
In the other SuperCup semifinal, Panathinaikos Athens prevailed over PAOK Thessaloniki 77 – 64 thanks to a strong second half. Mathias Lessort led the Greens with 20 points plus seven rebounds while Kyle Guy scored 14 and gave to the Greens a crucial advantage in the third period, when they were up by 20.
Olympiacos, the SupeCup reigning champion, will face Panathinaikos for the 2023 title on Saturday (19:00 CET).