Triumph for Reds, thrashing for Greens in Euroleague
Olympiakos scored its third win in a row in the Euroleague dismissing Anadolu Efes 78-60 in Piraeus on Thursday, while Panathinaikos got thrashed 87-71 at Unicaja Malaga.
The Reds played like European champions in front of their fans at the Peace and Friendship Stadium and dominated the game from start to finish, as the Turks (coached by Greek Vangelis Angelou) were no match for their host.
The double score (24-12) of the first period was a clear sign of what was to follow, with Vassilis Spanoulis becoming Olympiakos’s leader once again with 16 points. Matt Lojeski and Bryant Dunston notched up 13 each.
Panathinaikos is on a 3-3 record after suffering a bad loss in Spain. Missing James Gist, the Greek champion was in the game for the first 25 minutes, but when the score was at 57-54 in its favor it suddenly disappeared from the court, allowing Unicaja to run riot with its long-range shots.
The Greeks had particular problems in rebounds and too many turnovers, allowing a better-than-expected Unicaja to score a solid victory over the six-time European champion.
Ramel Curry was the top scorer of Panathinaikos with 14 points, all of them scored in the first half.
The next round of Euroleague games pits Panathinaikos against Olympiakos in Athens.
In the Eurocup on Wednesday Panionios suffered its fifth loss in as many second-stage matches, going down 80-67 at Nizhny Novgorod.
