Barcelona defeated Olympiacos in Piraeus after overtime by 82:80, thus taking the lead in the Euroleague playoff series by 2:1.
Michalis Lountzis and Kostas Papanikolaou did not play for Olympiacos. Barcelona arrived in Piraeus with a full roster.
During the first 10 minutes of the game in Piraeus, we didn’t see teams in a scoring mood. All of Barcelona’s points were scored by Jan Vesely, Jabari Parker, and Nicolas Laprovittola, while Olympiacos attacked with more weapons. The 13:13 score at the end of the first quarter was the best representation of basketball we witnessed.
The key player for the home team in the second quarter was Moses Wright, who was responsible for Olympiacos gaining a seven-point lead (32:25). Roger Grimau‘s team failed to respond effectively, which Olympiacos capitalized on and maintained the lead until halftime – 37:32. The scoring inefficiency of the 20 minutes in the “Peace and Friendship” arena best highlighted the importance of this game.
Barcelona opened the third period with three successful three-pointers, imposing their rhythm of play. Olympiacos struggled to find a good offensive form, which the Catalans punished with 25 points scored, giving them a six-point lead going into the crucial 10 minutes of the game – 57:51.
Olympiacos started the fourth quarter better than their opponents, with Filip Petrusev being the main contributor to the home team’s performance, but Barcelona did not give up. Alex Abrines, with two successful three-pointers, kept Barcelona in a good position, and in the end, we witnessed a dramatic finish. With seven seconds left in the game, Nicolas Laprovittola scored to tie the game (71:71). Nigel Williams-Goss had the opportunity to score for the win, but his shot in the last second was off-target.
Overtime was marked on one side by Moustapha Fall, while on the other side, the most efficient players were Jan Vesely and Tomas Satoransky. The crucial moment of the game came 0.5 seconds before the end of the match when Filip Petrusev fouled Jabari Parker, who secured the win for Barcelona with two successful free throws.
The top player for Olympiacos was Filip Petrusev with 18 points. Jan Vesely led Barcelona with 16 points.
The next game between Olympiacos and Barcelona will be played in two days, with the host once again being the team from Piraeus.
OLYMPIACOS – BARCELONA 80:82 (13:13, 24:19, 14:25, 20:14, 9:11)
Hall: “Peace And Friendship”
Referees: Belosevic, Difallah, Nedovic
Olympiacos: Walkup 10, Williams-Goss 9, Wright 16, Canaan, Larentzakis 3, Fall 8, Brazdeikis, Peters 8, Petrusev 18, Milutinov, Sikma, McKissic 8.
Barcelona: Da Silva 2, Vesely 16, Brizuela 2, Rubio, Kalinic 5, Satoransky 13, Hernangomez 13, Laprovittola 12, Abrines 6, Parker 13, Nnaji, Jokubaitis.