First home win of the season!
Despite a long injury list, Olympiacos defeated Dubai 86 - 67 and got to celebrate its first home win of the season!
With Frank Ntilikina making his Euroleague debut for Olympiacos by scoring the team’s first home basket of the season, the game against Dubai got underway. The 'red & whites' missing injured players Thomas Walkup, Evan Fournier, Shaquielle McKissic, and Keenan Evans, played with grit on defense and patience on offense, securing their first home victory in this year’s Euroleague.
Sasha Vezenkov was the offensive standout for our team in a game that began evenly (5–5, 2’). Olympiacos quickly resolved their defensive issues in the paint (11–11, 5’), and with scoring contributions from Saben Lee and Tyler Dorsey, went on an 8–3 run in the final three minutes of the first quarter (23–16), starting to impose their rhythm.
Our team started the second quarter strong, with an and-one play by Donta Hall, a steal from Kostas Papanikolaou, and a fast-break three-pointer from Tyler Dorsey (29–16). The visitors responded with a 6–0 run, taking advantage of some missed shots and poor transition defense, but Dorsey and Papanikolaou halted their momentum, restoring the double-digit lead (33–22, 14’). At that point, Omiros Netzipoglou made his first appearance on the court, marking his European debut with Olympiacos. Alec Peters and Nikola Milutinov also joined the offensive effort, as our team increased ball pressure, controlled the game (39–27, 17’), and closed the half up by 12 (43–31).
In the second half, Sasha Vezenkov continued to lead offensively (53–37, 23’), with Olympiacos maintaining high defensive focus and pushing the lead to +20 (61–41, 25’). Ntilikina delivered a spectacular assist to Milutinov for a dunk (63–44). Dubai tried to respond, but our team stayed composed and focused, ending the third quarter with a +19 lead (71–52).
In the final period, Vezenkov and Hall extended the lead to +23 (76–52, 32’). Coach Giorgos Bartzokas began to manage player minutes ahead of the demanding schedule, with the team retaining full control of the game and cruising to a convincing and well-deserved 86–67 victory!
The quarters: 23–16, 43–32, 71–52, 86–67.
