Credit: BasketNews/D.Repečka
Credit BasketNews/D.Repečka

Olympiacos (1-0) crushed Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (0-1) 75-50 (28-13, 19-9, 16-20, 12-8) in 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season start.

Player of the Game
Moustapha  Fall
EFF
16
Moustapha Fall
Points 11
Accuracy 5-6
Rebounds 3
Assists 1

Olympiacos started strong and built the foundations of the victory in the first quarter already. They made a 13-0 run thanks to Sasha Vezenkov, Kostas Papanikolou, and Moustapha Fall buckets and were leading 20-7.

Georgios Bartzokas’ squad kept increasing their lead, and after Vezenkov’s buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter, it reached 15 points (28-13). Baskonia turned the ball over 10 times in the first 10 minutes of playing time.

In the second period, Olympiacos continued its dominance. They played free-flow basketball with good ball movement. The Greek powerhouse won the quarter by 10 points and created a 25-point advantage (47-22).

The second half was a mere formality, and the Greek club secured a comfortable win.

For the winners, Sasha Vezenkov accumulated 16 points (5/8 2PT, 1/3 3PT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 16 PIR.

Moustapha Fall added 11 points (5/6 2PT, 1/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 16 PIR.

“I want to congratulate the team, the players, and the fans on the first victory,” Bartzokas said after the victory. “Obviously, the first match of the season, especially at home, hides a lot of pressure, and it’s always difficult. We are talking about a team (Baskonia) that beat us twice last year.”

Rokas Giedraitis led the route for Baskonia. He posted 15 points (3/6 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 6/6 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 16 PIR.

“Olympiacos played better than us tonight,” said Dusko Ivanovic after the duel. “Before the game, we knew how they play and their aggressiveness. That was our big problem.

This is a loss that hurts, not so much because we lost but because of the way we played. We got into their rhythm. Their defense was good, and our offense was very slow and predictable.”

Despite a very comfortable win, Thomas Walkup said that there’s still a lot of room to grow.

“We are far from perfection,” Olympiacos newcomer said after the game. “This Baskonia team had some injuries; Baldwin being out gave them only one ball handler. Even if we won by 25 points, there’s still a lot of stuff to work on. We are not satisfied yet.”

Baskonia’s Alec PeBaskonia’sade Baldwin did not participate in the game.

Olympiacos: Sasha Vezenkov 16 (5/8 2PT, 1/3 3PT), Moustapha Fall 11 (5/6 2PT, 1/2 FT), Kostas Sloukas 10 (2/5 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 3 REB, 5 AST), Kostas Papanikolou 8 (1/2 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 2 REB, 2 AST), Shaquielle McKissic 8 (1/3 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 6 REB), Tyler Dorsey 7 (2/5 2PT, 1/4 3PT, 3 AST).

Baskonia: Rokas Giedraitis 15 (3/6 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 6/6 FT, 6 REB), Matthew Costello 11 (3/7 2PT, 1/4 3PT, 9 REB), Steven Enoch 7 (1/1 2PT, 1/2 3PT, 1 REB), Landry Nnoko 6 (3/7 2PT, 7 REB).

Thomas Walkup post-game interview

Highlights

Comments:
We want to hear from you. Be the first to comment!
Thank you for reporting a comment

Add comment

We have the right to remove comments which are offensive, contains abusive language, or violates other rules of the website
Pirėjo Olympiakos
Vitorijos Baskonia
45%
31/69
Field goals
31%
18/58
36
Rebounds
43
20
Assists
13
11
Steals
3
6
Turnovers
21
91
Efficiency
51

Best players

Aleksandr  Vezenkov
16 PTS
6/11 FG
3/5 FT
Rokas  Giedraitis
15 PTS
4/11 FG
6/6 FT
Livio  Jean-Charles
7 REB
5 DREB
2 OREB
Matt  Costello
9 REB
6 DREB
3 OREB
Konstantinos  Sloukas
5 As
1 TO
26 MIN
Arturs  Kurucs
5 As
3 TO
22 MIN
Moustapha  Fall
16 EFF
83% 2P%
- 3P%
Rokas  Giedraitis
16 EFF
50% 2P%
20% 3P%