Olympiacos back on track after Malaga win
Reigning Euroleague champs Olympiacos picked up a vital 63-80 road win over Unicaja Malaga as the race for the Playoffs entered Round 12 of the Top 16.
An indifferent period for the Greek giant in the Top 16 has put qualification to the next round in the balance, but a win over fellow Playoff chasers Malaga will boost Olympiacos as the phase enters the final few games. The thought of the current double Euroleague champions missing the cut for the next round will worry a number of Basketball fans around the continent, but Olympiacos has now collected two consecutive wins and is back on course.
Things are awfully tight in Group E. Sure, Barcelona has run away with the group and EA7 Armani Milan has second position all but secure, but below them the fight for third and fourth is extremely close. Olympiacos has improved to 6-6 after this success and is guaranteed at least a share of fourth after this week. Malaga will be disappointed with losing at home, but the Spanish team is still in touch despite staying in sixth with a 5-7 record.
Unicaja Malaga vs. Olympiacos, 63-80
First quarter
Olympiacos got off to a good start with Giorgi Shermadini opening the scoring with a perfect two from the free throw line. Unicaja responded in blockbuster fashion courtesy of a Fran Vazquez mega dunk that put the Spanish team on the score board for the first time. Shermadini took a lay-up for the visitors before Ioannis Papapetrou and current MVP Vassilis Spanoulis hit back to back triples to give the Greek team a solid 2-10 lead. Olympiacos continued to improve and secured a dunk from early pace setter Shermadini to make it a 10 point game (2-12). Malaga struck back from downtown (Carlos Suarez) but the visitors were in a groove with Matt Lojeski and Spanoulis powering the team to a commanding 5-20 lead. It was the cap on a stunning 3-18 run that gave Olympiacos control of the game. The first quarter ended with the hosts getting more consistent in the paint, but still Malaga trailed 18-28 after 10 minutes.
Second quarter
It proved to be a cagey second period as Olympiacos tried to stifle Unicaja, while the Spanish team attempted to get back into the game. The teams traded scores early in the quarter thanks to Lojeski and Kostas Sloukas for the Reds, while Txemi Urtasun and Vladimir Stimac struck for Malaga. Suarez found net from a corner three to cut the lead to seven points (25-32) before Urtasun and Stimac responded to a big Lojeski dunk to cut the deficit to five (29-34). Olympiacos hit back by scoring the next five points, but Vazquez and Zoran Dragic kept the home team in the contest as the first half ended with the score at 34-41.
Third quarter
The fans inside the Martin Carpena Arena would have been pleased to see Unicaja stem the flow of Olympiacos success in the second quarter, but any thoughts of a comeback were ended in Q3. The hosts opened the third period with Stimac dunking, but Olympiacos replied with key steals to send Spanoulis, Mantzaris and Lojeski to the basket for a 36-47 lead. Dragic kept Malaga in contention over the next minute as he traded a three with Brent Petway and a two with Spanoulis (41-52). Lojeski scored two baskets and Petway hit his own inside the paint to make it a fifteen point game, with the score board reading 43-58. Txemi Urtasun kept Malaga rolling with a 75% from four free throws, but it was hardly enough. The champs continued to control the game despite the hosts going zonal and shutting out the Greek team for two minutes. After 30 minutes of play Olympiacos had control at 50-63.
Fourth quarter
Urtasun gave Unicaja brief hope at the start of the final frame from beyond the arc, but the impressive Spanoulis responded with his own triple. Lojeski struck again to put even more daylight between the teams and Olympiacos just seemed to be able to trade with Malaga and then find baskets at key moments. The result was a rather tame fourth quarter from the Spanish team as the visitors cruised to an important Group E win.
Spanoulis and Lojeski set the tone for Olympiacos with the former netting 20 points and the latter 18. Evangelos Mantzaris had a solid low scoring game by claiming 5 boards and dishing 9 assists.
Txemi Urtasun grabbed 13 points for a dejected Malaga, while Dragic and Stimac hit 10 points each.