A dominant performance
Olympiacos got an emphatic win over Bayern Munich (112-69) in a packed Peace and Friendship Stadium for the 20th round of the Euroleague and now sits alone at the top of the rankings.
Our team, that played without Kostas Papanikolaou and Evan Fournier, set the tempo early in the game, with record man Sasha Vezenkov scoring 45p. (the most scored by any one of our players in the Euroleague) and was never threatened at any point in the game, reaching an easy win over the Bavarians. With intense defensive game and pressure on the ball since the first possession (that led to 5 steals during the first quarter) and good ball movement in offense, Olympiacos started the game with a 9-0 streak and Alec Peters as the leading scorer. The hosts kept the German team from scoring for more than four minutes and were absolutely dominating the game (21-4 and 27-9, 7'), 'choking' the opponent. In the second quarter, a more relaxed defensive approach allowed Bayern to begin with a partial 2-8 and drop the difference to single digits (30-22, 12'). At that point though, Sasha Vezenkov took over, at a moment when a tighter defense produced a partial 8-0 (43-26, 15'). The guests tried to find rhythm through their offense but to no avail, with our team controlling the game (45-28, 18') and going to the locker rooms - following a buzzer-beater by Williams-Goss - with a +14 lead (51-37).
In the third quarter, the 5-0 by Bayern failed to become wider, with Moustapha Fall and Sasha Vezenkov quick to reply (55-42, 22'). Our team continued controlling the game through its defense and Vezenkov continued spearheading the offense (65-50, 25'). The Bavarians tried to stay in the game striking from the long range, but the intensity of the 'red & white' defense did not allow Herbert's players to find rhythm, when at the same time the hosts were enjoying pluralism in their offense, with Luca Vildoza and Alec Peters offering valuable help (72-53, 28') and the quarter closing at 78-57. In the last quarter, our team began with the same concentration in its defense and an impressive 16-0 run (94-57, 35'), setting the foundations for a dominant win. Sasha Vezenkov made the score 100-60 with his 39th point and a little later the 103-62, with Bayern failing to remain competitive and the game eventually ending at 112-69.
The quarters: 28-14, 51-37, 78-57, 112-69
* Thomas Walkup experienced lower back pain and played only during the first quarter.