she BARCA closed the winning streak of Euroleague. The Blaugrana fell in their visit to Athens against a Olympiakos (95-74) capitalizing on a week of heavy losses for the Cullers.
Good start
Two days after winning in Istanbul, the visit to the other great tracks of the continent did not start badly. The blaugrana, knowing that not starting to plug in Piraeus can cost you the game, started with a high intensity, which caused the first advantages to be the culers, with 7-11. And, although Olympiacos responded with a share of six, Barça again got a +4 (13-17).
They took the hits
But the Greeks’ push at home was difficult to control, just as Madrid suffered two days ago. Moses Wright’s power led 8-0 to end the first period (21-17) and great outside generators like McKissic and Dorsey appeared in the second. In fact, with less than three minutes left before halftime, the distance was very dangerous (39-28). That’s when Jabari Purker and Kevin Punter’s numbers came up. Between them they were able to reduce it to five points, but a triple from Dorsey made it 44-36 after half the game was played.
Punished and exhausted
Although Barça fought back in the first half, the third quarter was disastrous. The Greeks continued to do a lot of damage on the offensive rebound, punishing a lot and taking advantage of second actions, now from the perimeter. And, with all this cocktail, the duel went to the last stage with a difference that was difficult to overcome (65-50). In addition, those from Peñarroya seem tired after a hard week and more kilometers.
Only a success in Barcelona can prevent the European streak to remain at five consecutive victories, but it did not happen today. The force runs out prematurely, and the locals want to draw blood. The 5-0 start took away any small hope, and the final stage turned into a long process to get home. In defeat, yes, but with a balance of 5-2 that is more than good. Now, two games in a row in Palau. The first, on Sunday (12:30 pm) against Leyma Coruña in the Liga, and the second, the following Friday against Baskonia, but in the Euroleague (8:30 pm).
Match sheet
Olympiakos: 95
Barcelona: 74
Olympiakos: Walkup (8), Fournier (19), Vezenkov (18), Papanikolaou (3), Milutinov (12) – cinco inicial – Williams-Goss (2), Wright (4), Vildoza (0), Fall (2), Dorsey (12), Peters (5) and McKissic (10).
Barcelona: Núñez (3), Punter (18), Abrines (0), Parker (9), Fall (0) – starting five – Anderson (5), Sarr (2), Vesely (6), Brizuela (4), Metu (12), Satoransky (4) and Hernangómez (11).
Features: 21-17, 44-36, 65-50, 95-74.
Referees: Sreten Radovic, Piotr Pastusiak, Saso Petek.