Olympiakos sees off Maccabi in Tel Aviv
Olympiakos stayed on top of the Euroleague table with victory at Maccabi on Tuesday, while Panathinaikos succumbed to CSKA Moscow on Wednesday.
The Reds extended their perfect record so far with their first win on the road as they beat Maccabi 69-68 in Tel Aviv in a thrilling game decided by the last shot.
The Greeks may have led for most of the game, repeatedly enjoying six-point lead in the last quarter, but a late rally by the Israeli giant cut the distance to just one with five seconds on the clock. Norris Cole then took what could have been the winning shot for Maccabi, but his miss gave Olympiakos a precious victory that keeps it on top along with Real Madrid and Khimki, with three wins in three so far.
Giorgos Printezis once again stood out with his 21 points, while Nikola Milutinov also had a great game with eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Panathinaikos suffered one more bad loss away, adding an 18-point defeat (81-63) in Moscow to its 27-point drubbing at Barcelona earlier this month.
Panathinaikos’s resistance lasted for just the first five minutes of the game and over the third period, as the Greek champion was unable to contain Sergio Rodriguez and Kyle Heins, who between them scored 46 points.
KC Rivers was the Greens’ top scorer with 17 points.
A dark spot of the match was late in the second quarter when Nando De Colo struck James Gist in the eye and upon the American’s reaction (shoving the Frenchman) the referees disqualified both players.
The action continues on Thursday with Olympiakos hosting Khimki in Piraeus, and on Friday Panathinaikos entertains European champion Fenerbahce.
In the Basketball Champions League, Aris beat Nanterre 70-62 in Thessaloniki, PAOK defeated Capo d’ Orlando 63-58 in Italy and AEK lost 74-70 at home to Banvit.
