By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Sasha Vezenkov scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his return to action after two weeks as Olympiacos Piraeus beat Peristeri Athens 84 – 78 after a comeback from down 14 points.
With Peristeri up 75 – 78 and 1:42 remaining, Olympiacos closed the match with a 9 – 0 run to get the win. Giannoulis Larentzakis hit the 3-pointer to tie the game and then Thomas Walkup drove to the basket to drain the go-ahead bucket under pressure.
Larentzakis was then hurt while fighting to secure a loose ball for Olympiacos but managed to make 2-2 free throws on the other end. Nigel Williams-Goss secured the Reds’ victory with a pair from the line of his own.
Jarrell Eddie was unstoppable with 31 points on 7 – 11 triples but his efforts weren’t enough for Peristeri. The visiting side led almost for the entire game after the first five minutes and was up even 25 – 39 halfway through the second quarter.
Olympiacos came back to go ahead 45 – 44 early in the second half but Peristeri once again established a lead until the closing minutes.
Evan Fournier sat the game out for Olympiacos to further recover from an illness that was troubling him over the last week.
Moses Wright was also among the players sidelined by the Reds.
“He is in the hospital and undergoing tests after an infection that went into pneumonia,” head coach Giorgos Bartzokas updated the status of the 25-year-old center in a postgame interview with public Greek television, ERT, “We are looking into the market for a possible signing, but we are not sure if we must sign a player yet or how long he will be out.”