A valuable double, the second in seven days, was achieved by Olympiacos in Belgrade: 86-89 against “brother” Red Star, in front of 20,000 fans at Stark Arena. Moses Wright was the hero of the night.
The “red and white” of Piraeus led 11-21 thanks to the creation of Papanikolaou, Fal. McKissick responded to the hosts’ counterattack (21-30), Brazdeikis scored 30-38, but the Serbs got within touching distance at the break with baskets by Adam Hanga (39-42).
Back-to-back three-pointers by the once “green” Nemanja Nedovic tied the match: 52-52 and later 64-63 with Teodosic’s long shot at the end of the third period. Naz Mitrou-Long wrote 64-67, Wright 69-75 with personal actions, Papanikolaou 75-81 with a three-pointer. Asteras came within breathing distance again with Giedraitis (81-82) and equalized 48” before the end with a three-pointer by Hanga. Wright retaliated with the same “coin” at 24 seconds (84-87) and Olympiacos protected the gains, despite the missed shots.
Kostas Papanikolaou finished the game with 12 points and 6 assists. Moses Wright scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Giorgos Bartzokas also used Walkup 12, Williams-Goss 10, Mitrou-Long 5, Kanaan 3, Larentzaki 2, McKissick 7, Brazdeikis 3, Peters 9, Sikma 2, Fal 4. Also missing this time were the injured Serbs Petrusev and Milutinov.
Olympiacos now counts 21 wins and 12 losses and maintains its hopes for the home advantage. In its final game of the regular season, it will host the ambitious Fenerbahce (20-12) in the SEF next week.
For Yannis Sfeiropoulos’ team, which is 16th in the standings with a record of 11-22 as they have lost 7 of their last 8 games, Milos Teodosic had 6 points and 8 assists against his old team, while Joel Boloboi added 19 points. and 12 rebounds. Nedovic scored 15, Hanga 19, Giedraitis 16 and Mitrovic 8.
Panathinaikos, who will secure second place in the final standings if they win their last two games, are tested in Munich on Friday night against Bayern, supported by hundreds of fans. Next week, the “greens” will host the trailing Alba in OAKA.
#Asteras #Olympiacos #Endured #hopes
