Several players stepped up as the Reds grabbed a crucial win at Barcelona
Olympiacos showed its next-man-up approach in Game 1
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Playoff basketball requires plenty of things: sacrifice, determination and, deep down, confidence. Olympiacos Piraeus showcased all three of those qualities on Wednesday night as it got off to a 1-0 lead in its series against FC Barcelona.
The Reds had gone 0-2 in their two regular-season contests with Barcelona, losing 68-77 in Round 2 and 86-78 in Round 20, but it rose to the occasion in Game 1 of their best-of-five playoff series by grabbing a 75-77 triumph at Palau Blaugrana, where Roger Grimau’s men had only lost twice all season.
“I don’t think there was a doubt in the world on the plane ride over here and once we got to the hotel that we wanted to lose this game,” stated forward Shaquielle McKissic afterward. “This is a game that we wanted to win.”
Telling contributions all night long
Time after time, Olympiacos found a way to respond to setbacks. Nikola Milutinov was a game-time decision coming into the contest and head coach Georgios Bartzokas decided not to take any risks early on, with Moustapha Fall getting the nod. The French center went on to net 10 first-quarter points, with the Reds up 18-19 at the end of the period.
During that opening quarter, Alec Peters got 2 quick fouls and went straight to the bench, but Filip Petrusev soon made up for his absence by scoring 12 points in the second quarter. For every obstacle, Olympiacos found a solution.
Then, in the third quarter, Thomas Walkup received his fourth foul and had to sit on the naughty step. Without its floor general out there, Olympiacos could have crumbled. Instead, Nigel Williams-Goss appeared by scoring 8 of the Reds’ next 11 points to open a 47-60 margin.
“We managed to win the game, even though we played almost the whole second half without Thomas Walkup and Moustapha Fall fouled out,” Coach Bartzokas commented. “We had some issues, we had some problems during the game, but we overcame this. It’s an important win.”
And so it was. On Friday night, Barcelona and Olympiacos will meet again. Get ready for episode two!