Took care of business against Iraklis
Olympiacos defeated Iraklis 103 - 87 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF) in Round 5 of the Stoiximan Greek Basket League (GBL), improving to 5–0 record in the championship and remaining alone at the top of the standings.
For Giorgos Bartzokas’ team, Sasha Vezenkov stood out with 27 points (10/12 2-pointers), while Donte Hall added 23 points (a perfect 10/10 from inside the arc). Evan Fournier also reached double figures, scoring 14 points with 3/6 from 3-point range.
Iraklis opened the game with the first six points and later took an eight-point lead (6–14) thanks to Wright-Foreman’s efforts. However, Olympiacos quickly bounced back. Led by Sasha Vezenkov, who scored 8 points in the first quarter, the 'red & whites' went ahead by four (22 - 18 at 9’). Iraklis, shooting 5/9 from the 3-point arc in the opening period, managed to regain the lead at the end of the quarter (22 - 23).
Donta Hall dominated when he entered the court, scoring continuously in the second quarter. He reached 19 points in just 11:28', helping Olympiacos build a 10-point halftime lead (50 - 40).
In the second half, Iraklis once again scored the first six points of the period, and with four consecutive 3-pointers from Wright-Foreman, Sotiris Karapostolou’s team went ahead midway through the third quarter (57 - 58).
At that point, Giorgos Bartzokas called a timeout to “wake up” his players; and it worked. Giannoulis Larentzakis hit the team’s first 3-pointer, followed by three more from long range by Fournier and Vezenkov, putting Olympiacos up 76 - 67 by the end of the third quarter.
After his first made 3-pointer, Evan Fournier found his rhythm and finished with 14 points, becoming the team’s third scorer behind Vezenkov (27 pts) and Hall (23 pts). Both continued to shine in the fourth quarter, as Olympiacos surpassed the 100-point mark and sealed the win with a 16-point margin (103 - 87).
Next up for Olympiacos is another home game at SEF, on Friday (November 7) against Partizan, for Round 9 of the EuroLeague.
- Tyler Dorsey and Alec Peters were left out of the squad, while Kostas Antetokounmpo continues to recover from a retinal hematoma.
The quarters: 22 - 23, 50 - 40, 76 - 67, 103 - 87.
