Olympiacos Piraeus had its back against the wall in its Round 28 game against Virtus Segafredo Bologna. It found the way to rally from a 12-point deficit and register a 74-69 victory.
Everything clicked for Olympiacos after the break
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 28 of 34
Group Regular Season
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There was an unusual cold atmosphere in the Peace and Friendship Stadium at the start of the game. Olympiacos's football team had just lost 1-4 against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League eighthfinals. Virtus took advantage of it, playing an outstanding first half to get a 34-46 margin 30 seconds before the break.
Virtus made 10 of 17 two-pointers (58.8% 2FG) and 6 of 12 three-pointers (50% 3FG) in the first half, dishing 13 assists and committing just 4 turnovers. On the other hand, Olympiacos had more turnovers (9) than assists (7) in the opening 20 minutes, missing starting point guard Thomas Walkup way too much. Both teams' PIR said it all: Virtus had amassed a PIR of 56, limiting the Reds to just 19.
Everything changed in the second half, as team captain Kostas Papanikolaou sparked his team's comeback with back-to-back three-pointers, one in each half. It was the start of a 16-0 run in which the hosts held Virtus scoreless for 5 minutes. Moustapha Fall and Alec Peters contributed in a run that Nigel Williams-Goss capped with a floater. By then, Olympiacos fans were fully into the game and pushing their way as they usually do.
"When a team like us that wants to be a good defensive team receives 46 points in the first half, something is quite wrong," Papanikolaou said after the game. "So everybody stepped up, came out in the second half and received a total of 23 points, 5 points in the third quarter. That is who we want to be, that is what gave us the win, what gave us the energy and the opportunities on offense to shoot with good confidence and make shots."
Indeed, Virtus's second-half numbers were very different. The visitors made just 8 of 22 two-pointers (36.4% 2FG) and 1 of 12 three-pointers (8.3% 3FG), were outrebounded by 24-20 and only had 3 assists against 7 turnovers. In other words, it was a completely different game.
Papanikolaou led the way with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Olympiacos also managed to get the tie-break advantage against Virtus. The Reds play their next game at home, and Olympiacos fans will need no wake-up call, as archrival Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens will be at Peace and Friendship Stadium for a very important Greek derby.