The hosts prevailed after the competition’s bottom team had threatened to stage a stunning upset
Olympiacos digs deep to edge ALBA, 90-85
Olympiacos Piraeus scraped a labored 90-85 home win over ALBA Berlin and improved to 11-6 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after a late rally allowed the Greek side to force the final twist, as the German outfit dropped to 3-14 despite a valiant effort.
Evan Fournier paced Olympiacos with a game-high 23 points and big man Moustapha Fall added 18 for the Greek side, which completed a perfect double-round week with a second successive home win after beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Wednesday.
Sasha Vezenkov netted 17 points, including crucial free throws in the final minute, while Shaq McKissic chipped in with 10 for the hosts, who benefited from 14 offensive boards. At the other end, Matt Thomas led ALBA on 19 points while Yanni Wetzell and Trevion Williams posted 13 apiece for the visitors.
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The early stages suggested that Olympiacos was in for plain sailing as the home team raced into a 16-6 lead, with Fall steamrolling through ALBA’s paint time and again. The plucky visitors tore up that script, though, hitting back to nose ahead 26-28 early in the second quarter on the back of a 0-9 run.
Fall and McKissic then had the crowd on its feet with some spectacular plays which lit up the Peace and Friendship Stadium, but ALBA refused to roll over and Olympiacos took only a slender 44-41 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Vezenkov joined the scoring party in the third quarter and Fournier sank a couple of successive threes in the period’s closing stages to give the hosts their biggest lead of the night, 66-54, once again setting the stage for what should have been a walk in the park for Olympiacos in the final 10 minutes.
However, ALBA had other ideas. The visiting team drained a flurry of audacious three-pointers in the fourth quarter while Olympiacos choked from downtown at the other end, enabling the visiting team to surge ahead 82-85 as the atmosphere among the home fans went flat.
Fournier then showed his class and the resolve of a former NBA stalwart, as he nailed a pair of crucial shots to put Olympiacos back in front, while Vezenkov was ice-cool from the foul line to complete the clutch 8-0 run and secure the home team’s victory.