Olympiacos Bayern Preseason
Photo: Euroleague Basketball

After losing to ASVEL in Euroleague’s preseason tournament semifinal last night, Olympiacos got the third place in Valencia after defeating Bayern Munich, 82-68. With Kostas Sloukas having 13 assists and five Olympiacos’ players in double digits, the team from Piraeus got an impressive win against Bayern after an impressive second half. Coach Bartzokas and his players, after a poor start in the game, fought back, played great defense and reminded us why Olympiacos used to be one of the top defensive teams in the Euroleague.

Hassan Martin and Giannoulis Larentzakis were the top scorers for Olympiacos with 13 points each, with Sasha Vezenkov and Georgios Printezis adding 12. For Bayern Munich, Vladimir Lucic had 11 points with Malcolm Thomas adding 10.

In the first quarter, Bayern controlled the rhythm of the game being extremely physical and got an early 10-point lead (4-14). Olympiacos couldn’t move the ball properly and find its way to the basket, letting Bayern control the tempo of the game.

In the second quarter, Olympiacos’ energy changed with the appearance of Larentzakis on the court. Olympiacos started running, playing defense and not letting Bayern play their game. Two three-pointers from Larentzakis and a few great assists from Kostas Sloukas brought the team from Piraeus back to the game (31-32).

In the second half, Olympiacos brought back from the locker rooms the energy they were missing. Their great defensive performance unlocked their offense as well. Kostas Papanikolaou, Aaron Harrison and Hassan Martin found their way to the basket and gave Olympiacos a nine-point lead at the end of the third quarter (58-49).

With their confidence up high from their great third quarter, Olympiacos dominated the fourth and final quarter in Valencia. Defense was, once again, the key with the players of coach Bartzokas finding multiple ways to score.