Sloukas and Vezenkov beat Real Madrid

The great final stretch of the point guard culminated the work of the power forward, immeasurable with 23 points, they decided for Olympiacos

Real Madrid, despite scoring 14 triples, did not find the necessary rhythm or defensive energy to control their rival

The great performance of Costas Sloukasin the final minutes, and Sasha Vezenkov Throughout the entire game they were key to dominating a Real Madrid team that, although it scored 14 triples, did not find the necessary rhythm, nor the defensive energy to control Olympiacos (87-89).

The match took time to pick up pace between two teams that know each other perfectly, although it was Madrid who took control of the scoreboard thanks to Guerschon Yabuselewhile at Olympiacos Thomas Walkup and Sahsa Vezenkov proved that they are the true backbone of the Greek team.

A triple by Vezenkov gave the Hellenic side a fleeting lead, 16-18 (min. 7:45) but it was Madrid who won the first quarter with a meager 21-20. With Walter Tavares and Mustapha Fall, both 2.20 meter players, canceling each other, the differences came with the rotations. While Walkup and Vezenkov do not have replacements of his level, men like Dzanan Musa are appearing in Madrid, who scored two triples in 3.41 minutes of play, in which he committed two silly personalities, his Achilles heel.

Then it was Petr Cornelie with another two triples, which allowed Madrid to amass an 8-point lead, 37-29 (m.17) that he threw overboard in the following minutes to reach the break with 38-37. The poor defense of the Spanish team, without the usual energy, was corrected with the success from the triple, 7 of 17 at the break, because Olympiacos failed and only scored 2 three-pointers out of the 11 he attempted in the first 20 minutes. With the fight for rebounds even, 19-20, assists, 13-8, and turnovers, 5-3, they began to have their specific weight on the scoreboard.

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Going through changing rooms did not alter too much the dynamics of a game lacking rhythm on both sides. Madrid continued with the reins of the scoreboard49-45 (m.24), now with a more dominant Tavares, while Vezenkov and Walkup were joined by Shaquielle McKissis to make the rubber in the result, 52-52 (m.26).

Musa’s third three-pointer without error, nor the fourth in five attempts, gave Chus Mateo’s team the necessary boost to finish up on the scoreboard at the end of the third quarter, 62-63, with an unstoppable Vezenkov for the Madrid defense.

The Spanish team started the last quarter with a win, 68-63 (m.31.20), but Olympiacos, far from wrinkling, increased the energy of its defense. Musa continued to show that he has many points in his hands and Cornelie that he is a good triple shooter from the corner, 73-67 (m.33).

While Mateo dosed efforts to arrive with his best quintet as fresh as possible in the final minutes, Georgios Bartzokas, coach of Olympiacos, ‘burned’ Vezenkov who played the entire second half and reached the key moments without bellows.

A three-pointer by Giannoulis Larentzakis and a layup by Kostas Sloukas put Olympiacos ahead, 83-84, with 1:24 remaining. And a free kick by Joel Bolomboy increased the advantage that Sergio Llull neutralized from a personal shot, 85-85 with 48 seconds to go.

Sloukas with two free kicks and Llull with a layup restored the tables, 87-87, with 19.9 seconds to go. Sloukas challenged Tavares and scored 87-89 with 3 seconds remaining. Tavares missed the last hook and Madrid lost the match.