Olympiacos Piraeus bounced back from its last loss in Tel Aviv with an 86-76 win over ALBA Berlin at Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. The Reds were up for the entirety of the second half but had to survive several comeback attempts by ALBA and could only build a double-digit margin entering crunch time. ALBA slipped to 3-7 after suffering its seventh defeat in a row.
Olympiacos defeats ALBA, 86-76
Sasha Vezenkov displayed another MVP performance of 24 points and 6 rebounds for a PIR of 34 for the winners. Kostas Papanikolau followed with 19 points and 9 boards, Kostas Sloukas tallied a double-double of 12 points and 11 assists and Joel Bolomboy added 12 points. Maodo Lo and Jalen Smith led ALBA in scoring with 12 points apiece, Lo also dished 7 assists, and Christ Koumadje and Tamir Blatt had 10 points each in the losing effort.
Game Videos
Vezenkov got the Reds going with 9 points that established an early 11-10 edge for the home team. Koumadje took over for ALBA right then, starting a 0-6 run that turned into an 18-21 advantage after 10 minutes. Five points by Vezenkov preceded Bolomboy’s explosion in the second quarter as he went for 9 points on perfect shooting to build a 37-31 margin midway through the second quarter. ALBA didn’t give up, though, and adjusted its defense to reach halftime trailing 39-38.
Shaquielle McKissic fueled Olympiacos early after the break on offense, as Olympiacos geared up in defense to establish a 46-38 edge after 24 minutes. A technical foul on McKissic reanimated ALBA, who found Smith in offense to recover its momentum and make it a one-possession game entering the last stanza, 61-59. Ben Lammers tied it up when the game resumed, but Olympiacos didn’t panic. Bolomboy provided a three-point play that opened the door for the home team's last strike. The trio of Sloukas, Papanikolau and Vezenkov, who combined for 17 of the guests’ last 21 points, built an 82-72 edge late in the game that sealed the outcome.