With their three European crowns (1997, 2012 and 2013), Olympiakos welcomed Monaco into the Euroleague play-offs in their own way. In a packed Hall of Peace and Friendship, the Greek club silenced the Roca Team (71-54) on Wednesday evening in match 1 of the quarter-final between the two teams.
On Tuesday afternoon, Sasa Obradovic and his men flew to Piraeus on a nice momentum: seven wins in eight games to close out the regular season. But the best offense in the Euroleague (averaging 84 points) was a day without Greece, three weeks after beating the same opponent at the Rock (92-72).
White-hot with the tribute to legend Vassilis Spanoulis before kick-off, Olympiakos took fifteen minutes to settle in. Monaco took the opportunity to take a small lead (8-15, 10th), on an award-winning shot by Paris Lee seconds from the buzzer. The last ray of sunshine before the attack on the Rock in the first half.
The arrival of Shaquielle McKissic and the return of Thomas Walkup confused the Monegasque ball carriers, Mike James in the lead, forced to take very difficult shots. Two long shots from McKissic (12 points) finally gave Olympiakos (26-22, 16th) the advantage, who could count on the impact of their two Frenchmen: Moustapha Fall (4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Livio Jean-Charles ( 6 points, 7 rebounds).
Match 2 on Friday in Greece
After the break, his compatriot Thomas Walkup (11 points, 4 interceptions) took over by going seven meters through the net and then dunking on the head of Mike James from whom he had just stolen the ball (44-30, 25th ). On his bench, Sasa Obradovic has long searched for the right five to breathe a little on the attack. The Serbian coach found it at the end of the last quarter with the impact of Donta Hall (10 points, 6 rebounds). Too late to reverse the trend.
With their veterans Giorgios Printezis and Kostas Sloukas in the lead, Olympiakos had regained their long-distance prowess to sail to a quiet victory in this first game of the quarter-finals. † We have to control our emotions. This game showed us that you have to attack with a plan “Sasa Obradovic reacted at the microphone of the Euroleague, already turned to match 2, Friday in the same room.
Profusely booed by the Olympiakos crowd, like any former Panathinaikos player – Mike James (10 points, 3 out of 9 shooting) will also be looking to catch up to prevent the Roca team from returning to Monaco at the foot of the wall.
