Late collapse results in damaging defeat  

EUROLEAGUE REGULAR SEASON - ROUND 19

A late collapse saw Olympiacos concede yet another damaging defeat in the EuroLeague, as ALBA Berlin claimed a hard-fought 93-86 victory at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONASport.com! 

Before the fourth quarter began, Olympiacos held a slender three-point lead in Piraeus, but ALBA came roaring back to take the concluding period 25-15 and sneak a vital victory which takes them up to a 6-13 record. Olympiacos, for their part, have seven wins in 19 games, as their playoff hopes continue to rapidly diminish. 

This was Giorgos Bartzokas’ first game at the helm after he became the Olympiacos head coach again at the weekend.

Olympiacos were coming off the back of an important victory at playoff rivals Valencia.

Nikola Milutinov (15), Giorgos Printezis (15), Vassilis Spanoulis (14) and Antonis Koniaris (11) all reached double figures in terms of points for Olympiacos, while Marcus Eriksson of Valencia was the top scorer of the match with 22 points to his name. 

On Friday, Olympiacos will face Bayern Munich at home, with ALBA travel to Red Star Belgrade.

THE MATCH

Olympiacos, who started the game in good scoring form, edged a tight, evenly-matched first period by three points.

However, ALBA Berlin subsequently took charge of proceedings in the second stanza, bossing the game to suddenly open up a eight-point lead. Olympiacos’ defence struggled as the German visitors tallied 31 points in the second quarter alone.

The Erythrolefki were at their best during the third quarter. Playing high-tempo basketball, Olympiacos outscored their opponents 29-18, giving themselves a real foothold.

Unfortunately for Olympiacos, it all went wrong in the fourth frame. With 11 seconds remaining, Olympiacos were within one point of ALBA, but Spanoulis missed a three-pointer and the German club saw out the game with converted free-throws.

HIGHLIGHTS

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: sportfm.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!