SPORTS

Red hoopsters emerge victorious from Moscow

Olympiakos came from 13 points down to beat Khimki in Russia 87-82 on Friday, showing it has shaken off its Cup final loss to Panathinaikos five days earlier.

This was the fourth win in seven games for Olympiakos at this second group stage of the Euroleague, giving the Reds a decent chance of securing a top-two spot in the end, after seven more games.

An impressive performance in the last period of the game saw the Greeks stun their host in Moscow region, as one might have thought Khimki would stroll to victory after its 43-35 half-time lead and its 50-37 advantage midway through the third quarter.

Yet the players of coach Giorgos Bartzokas picked themselves up and made the most of their opponents’ turnovers (10 against Olympiakos’s three) to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a partial score of 33-22 in the last period of the match.

Kyle Hines and Vassilis Spanoulis paced the winners’ scoring with 19 points each.

Meanwhile both Olympiakos and Panathinaikos received on Friday a four-game home ban for their fans’ behavior in the Greek Cup final on Sunday. They will host their opponents behind closed doors.

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