The Reds got back to winning ways by pulling off a dominant outing in Round 17
Olympiacos bounces back from adversity versus ASVEL, looking to build ‘habits’
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 17 of 38
Regular Season
Olympiacos PiraeusOLY
10784
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
Overview
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A three-game losing skid had dealt a major blow to Olympiacos Piraeus’s morale heading into Friday’s clash against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. The Reds had failed to find their spark, losing four of their last five games and struggling to produce their trademark basketball on the floor during that stretch.
Each EuroLeague campaign might be a marathon, but the mid-season mark is approaching and teams are called to gear up in their bid to start the new calendar year with fresh energy. Meanwhile, as Sasha Vezenkov stressed after the 107-84 thrashing of ASVEL, his team is looking to build habits that will allow them to grow into the season.
And Friday’s outing in front of their fans was a first big step in that direction.
Olympiacos was solid from start to finish on both ends of the floor, with its top scorers leading the charge on offense and the whole team putting in extra effort on the other end.
Tyler Dorsey nailed 4 triples to end the game on 22 points, but more importantly, he found his open teammates off the dribble and contributed a season-high 6 assists. Vezenkov pulled off another complete display by scoring 17 points to go with his 5 rebounds and 4 assists – his highest mark of the season.
Evan Fournier, who has been up and down this season, went 7 for 9 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line to register a season-high 21 points. His compatriot, Frank Ntilikina, also reached double figures in scoring by netting 11 points, his best tally as an Olympiacos player.
The hosts managed 25 assists, with head coach Georgios Bartzokas praising his players’ offensive performance against ASVEL.
“We were really efficient offensively, sharing the ball and scoring 63 points in the second half with a lot of assists,” he said in the post-game press conference. “We are looking forward now to develop our game and look better every day.”
As for the defensive side of the floor, Olympiacos forced its opponent into 16 turnovers and grabbed 9 steals, with six players getting at least one each.
“Honestly, it just feels good to get the win, get some positive vibes around here,” Dorsey told EuroLeague TV after the game. “Hopefully, this starts something for us. We have to turn it up a notch on everything. Hopefully this is the right step into the rest of this month. That’s what we have to find: getting back to having fun and getting back to winning games.”
The foundation is there, with Olympiacos being one of the most consistent teams over the last few years. But as Vezenkov admitted, what’s currently missing is chemistry, something that players and coaching have been working on in this first stretch of the season.
“We have to build chemistry,” the Olympiacos forward said when speaking with EuroLeague TV. “It’s December, I know it’s early in the season, but winning is a habit and fighting is a habit. We have to fight and win. We have to find it, we have to work hard. We’re looking positively forward.”
Having lost three in a row away from home, the Reds will look to get back to winning ways on the road as they face Virtus Bologna next week.
In a highly-competitive EuroLeague, every win matters. But what matters most for Olympiacos right now is to build those habits that will turn them into an undisputed contender as the season unfolds.
