THE Olympic came up with an upset in an important 80-71 victory against the Partisan in the SEF and reached 6 wins in the 9th matchday of the Euroleague, approaching the top of the ranking.
With Tomas Walkup being decisive for his team for the second match in a row and his defense “cleaning up” in difficult times, Olympiacos “bent” Partizan in the end and went 2/2 in his last games in SEF, moving up at 6-3 in the Euroleague standings.
However, the Piraeus showed once again the… road that can lead them throughout the season, which goes through their defense, especially in the SEF, who gain extra energy from their fans.
The definitive Walkup
Having struggled at the start of the season with injuries, Tomas Walkup has been missing quite a bit at Olympiakos and his absence has become more evident in the last few matches, as he seems to have found his old good self.
The American guard of Olympiakos with a Greek passport was decisive for a second consecutive game in the SEF and in fact this time he was named MVP of the match against Partizan, being a protagonist in defense and attack.
Against Hapoel Tel Aviv, it was Walkap who decided the match with both defenses in the final minutes, but against the Serbs he was also his team’s top scorer. Zeljko Obradovic… gave him the shot and he “punished” him with 15 points and 3/6 three-pointers, one of which was a “knife” at the end of the match.
Defense makes the difference in SEF
After the victory over Partizan, Olympiacos has won 3 of its 5 games in the SEF, with the result being judged in all matches by its defense. Giorgos Bartzokas’ team kept Partizan under 71 points, as well as Dubai BC and Hapoel Tel Aviv to reach victory in front of his fans, while his image in defeats was exactly the opposite.
Efes Andolou scored 82 points and Monaco scored 92 points to leave the SEF with the double, as Olympiacos could not contain their attacks and failed to follow them in the score.
Away from home, Olympiacos has defeated Baskonia and Maccabi Tel Aviv despite its poor defense, but in SEF the “pressure” seems to be greater for its players and it needs the energy from the defense, which it puts into… the game and its fans, to get the positive result. Bartzokas also pointed out the fact at the endexplaining that when his team played defense, they achieved the upset and victory over Partizan.