Olympiacos defeated Aris in the first round of the Greek championship with a score of 81:72. However, the victory came at a high cost for Piraeus, as two players had to leave the game due to injuries.
With already two players sidelined, two more members of the team were added to the injured list. Moustapha Fall and Ignas Brazdeikis didn’t play in the first round of the new EuroLeague season, and now Nigel Williams-Goss and Luke Sikma had to leave the game against Aris.
The former Partizan guard left the game in the middle of the second quarter and didn’t return. It appeared that Goss had strained his hamstring while maneuvering around a screen. After getting rid of the ball, he immediately grabbed his left leg and headed to the locker room.
It became evident after halftime that Sikma would also not finish the game. The experienced power forward felt discomfort in his calf and didn’t play in the second half.
Olympiacos will host Barcelona in the second round of the EuroLeague on Friday, and it remains uncertain whether the mentioned players will recover in time for that matchup.
As for the game itself, Georgios Bartzokas’ team controlled the proceedings in the first 10 minutes and managed to win the quarter 23:18.
However, the hosts, primarily through Vasileios Toliopoulos, first got back into the game and then turned the score in their favor, heading into halftime with a half-point lead.
The Piraeus visitors entered the third quarter without Goss and Sikma, but despite that, they played their best quarter in this game. Isaiah Canaan was relentless from beyond the arc, and Olympiacos entered the final 10 minutes with a double-digit lead of 64:54.
Aris managed to cut the deficit to -4 in the closing moments of the game, but the Reds countered with an 8:3 run to secure their first win of the season in the Greek championship.
Isaiah Canaan led the way for Olympiacos with 25 points, while Toliopoulos scored 16 for the team from Thessaloniki.