THE Olympic was riveting against the Bayern Munich and won 96-71. Giorgos Bartzokas got what he wanted from every player. No athlete was negative for the “red and whites”.
Vezenkov and Dorsey were the leading scorers with 18 and 19 points respectively, but Donda Hall was named MVP for his exuberant performance with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Kostas Antetokounmpo and Saben Lee did not play at all for Olympiakos against Bayern Munich.
Olympiakos’ defense was the one that gave him the psychology to have amazing percentages at the front of the floor. The Piraeus team finished the game with 13/28 three-pointers (46.4%) and 24/35 two-pointers (68.6%). With these percentages and with 71 points in defense there was no way to lose this match.
The defense that unlocked everything
From the first quarter of the match, it seemed that the Piraeus team could not be threatened by Gordon Herbert’s team. The Olympiakos players put their bodies right in every phase and did nothing easy for their opponents. All they gave up were some offensive rebounds, but they didn’t make many baskets.
The 12 steals show the passion and terrific defense they played. This gave easy points to the surprise, which opened the gap, every time the home team tried to come back.
Total basketball
Olympiacos played the basketball that Giorgos Bartzokas likes. He had 25 assists for 10 turnovers. Walkup was the main exponent of the attacking creation of the “red and whites”. He had 8 assists and 7 points and in defense he was the classic Walkup that the friends of Piraeus are used to.
Fournier was the second player to move the ball nicely for Barzoka’s team, with 4 assists and 9 points in 17 minutes, slowly returning to their factory settings after his injury.
The role model of Ward and McKissick
Shaquille McKissic played for the first time this year and showed what it means to play selflessly for your team. He put his hands on every ball. He would steal and rush to finish or pass the ball to his teammates. He had 3 steals, 3 assists and 5 points in 17 minutes of action.
Tyson Ward once again did everything for his team on the floor. He had 9 points, 4 rebounds and a lot of energy on the court. He ran and distributed the ball well to provide good circulation for his team. Both players had tremendous spirit on the court and provided the spark to open the gap against Bayern Munich.