Olympiacos dominates ALBA in Berlin, 60-93
Olympiacos Piraeus reminded everyone why it is at the top of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings with an emphatic 60-93 win on the road at ALBA Berlin on Wednesday night. This victory improved the Reds to a league-best 17-7, while ALBA remains rock bottom with a record of 6-18.
Sasha Vezenkov had a leading role for Olympiacos, finishing with a 28-point, 13-rebound double-double. In the absence of Kostas Sloukas for a third straight game, Thomas Walkup impressed with a 15-point, 10-assist double-double of his own, while Kostas Papanikolaou added 11 points. Louis Olinde was ALBA's only double-digit scorer, ending the game with 16 points.
Game Videos
Olympiacos took the first lead of the game thanks to a Papanikolaou two-pointer, but inside the opening minute, Moustapha Fall had to go to the bench after picking up 2 fouls. Yet, with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter, Tarik Black – Olympiacos's other center – had to take a seat on the bench after he recorded 2 fouls, too. Joel Bolomboy went to the 5 in a small-ball lineup, and he provided good energy, all while Vezenkov kept putting points on the board. ALBA tried fighting back, but Olympiacos ended the first 10 minutes ahead 13-28, with Vezenkov having matched ALBA's total – 13 points – by himself.
The visitors kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter and soon made it a 20-point game, 15-35, after a Bolomboy dunk and a corner three by Shaquielle McKissic. ALBA attempted to fight back, but Black went 2-for-2 from the line with 4:29 left before halftime to record a game-high lead of 21 points, 18-39. There was a resurgence by ALBA after that, though, as Olinde, Jaleen Smith and Tamir Blatt all hit from beyond the arc to cut the gap to 11, 34-45, with 21 seconds to go. Then, Olympiacos head coach Georgios Bartzokas was hit with a technical, which Blatt converted to make it a 10-point game at the break, 35-45.
Fall spent the majority of the first half on the bench after picking up his 2 early fouls, but he started the third quarter and made an immediate impression, scoring Olympiacos's first 4 points of the second half, 37-49. ALBA managed to make it a single-digit deficit, 41-50, after a Luke Sikma reverse layup with 7:15 remaining, but from there, Olympiacos took its game to another level. Vezenkov and Walkup both hit from deep, before Fall had a monster dunk to cap an 0-8 run, 41-58. From there, the game began to get out of hand, with the lead extending to 29 points with 1:37 left, 43-72. Entering the fourth, ALBA was down by 28, 45-73.
Vezenkov continued his excellent night early in the fourth quarter with a triple to make it a 31-point game, 45-76. By the time there was 6:11 to go, Olympiacos led by 37 points, 49-86, as ALBA looked well and truly defeated. The pace of the game dropped in the latter stages as Olympiacos saw out the final minutes, but there was still time for Vezenkov to receive an ovation from the Olympiacos fans inside Mercedes-Benz Arena, as he made his way off the floor with 2:27 remaining. There was still time for a trademark McKissic dunk, 57-91, and a two-point make on his EuroLeague debut for Panagiotis Tsamis, 57-93, as the Reds coasted to a 60-93 victory.