An easy win in Karditsa
Despite many important absences, Olympiacos got an easy win over Karditsa on the road (83-54), for the 10th day of the Basket League.
With good defense, excellent ball movement, complete dominance of the rebounding and Luke Sikma and Giannoulis Larentzakis leading the offence, the 'red & whites' set the tempo and closed the first quarter at +9 (13-22).
When Isaiah Canaan and Nikola Milutinov entered the equation, the difference went sky-high, since with a partial 19-5, Olympiacos got a +23 lead (18-41, at 15'). Giorgos Bartzokas took the chance and spread the playing minutes, however, despite defense remaining aggressive, the tempo went down and Karditsa closed in 28-44 at 20'.
With the return of Canaan and Milutinov on the floor, the order was restored immediately. The American guard found target from behind the three-point line, the Serbian center dominated the post and the margin went to +24 (33-57 at 25') and 41-65 at 30'). The 'red & whites' though, never stepped on the brakes, even though the game had been decided very early on and following a dunk by Milutinov, they were leading by 32p. (47-79) at 38'. It's note-worthy that at 36', Giorgos Bartzokas put the 17-year old Anastasi Rozakea on the floor.
- Kostas Papanikolaou suffered a hematoma in his right groin during the game vs Bayern and did not travel with the team. Alec Peters did not also travel to Karditsa, who is expecting the birth of his first child. As for Nigel Williams-Goss, although he traveled with the team, he did not sit in the bench. Finally, Filip Petrusev, Naz Mitrou-Long and Shaquielle McKissic are not eligible for Basket League games.
The quarters: 13-22, 28-44, 41-65, 54-83.
