A win in Rhodes with a historic triple-double by Ward
Despite significant absences, Olympiacos earned another road victory, defeating Kolossos Rhodes 98–85 on their home court.
Walkup, Ntilikina, Morris, Milutinov were not included in the 12-men roster, as well as Shaquille McKissic, who is not on the GBL roster list. Nevertheless, led by Ward (18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), Vezenkov (23 points, 5 rebounds) and Hall (18 points, 8 rebounds), Olympiacos secured their 15th win in the Stoiximan GBL in as many games. In fact, Tyson Ward made history by recording the third triple-double in Olympiacos’ history in the Stoiximan GBL, following Alexander Volkov and Moustapha Fall.
Giorgos Bartzokas started the game with Tyler Dorsey at the point guard position and opted for three forwards in his starting lineup (Ward, Papanikolaou, Vezenkov), while Tyrique Jones played the center position. Vezenkov was once again outstanding from the onset of the game, scoring 10 points within the first 7:17’’. During the same stretch, Papanikolaou and Dorsey contributed significantly to the team’s organization, with Jones and Hall finishing the plays they were set up for.
Towards the end of the first quarter, Dorsey connected twice from beyond the arc, giving Olympiacos an 11-point lead (16–27).
In the second quarter, Giannoulis Larentzakis entered the game and was particularly active as a facilitator. Kolossos applied full-court pressure, trying to exploit the lack of a true point guard for our team, forcing several turnovers and poor decisions. Led by Chasson Randle (4/5 three-pointers at halftime), the Rhodians not only got back into the game but, capitalizing on points off our consecutive turnvovers, also took a three-point lead (46–43) at halftime.
In the second half, Olympiacos came out more focused, scoring 12 points in about three minutes to regain the lead at 46–41. However, mistakes soon resurfaced due to the absence of a floor manager on the court. Kolossos tried to stay close to the score, but at that point the ‘red & whites’ tightened their defense and fed Donta Hall to build a double-digit lead (57–67). The American big man was the only center used in the second half, as Jones felt tightness in his biceps and was rested for precautionary reasons.
In the latter part of the period, Olympiacos was solid. With Vezenkov reaching 23 points and Tyson Ward contributing both as a scorer and a playmaker, the team took a 14-point lead (63–77) heading into the fourth quarter.
At the start of the final period, tensions rose significantly as Vezenkov and Petropoulos got into a scuffle. Petropoulos shoved the Olympiacos player away after a confrontation, and Vezenkov reacted. Notably, only the Olympiacos player was ejected from the game, despite the dangerous shove by the Kolossos guard.
After the incident, Randle attempted once again to bring the Rhodians back into the game, but Ward was everywhere for our team. Delivering his most complete performance in the ‘red and white’ jersey, he sealed the outcome of the matchup. The former Paris player even played as a playmaker, excelling in the role, and finished the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals.
Olympiacos claimed the 98–85 victory and improved to 15 wins in the League.