Last quarter, Vezenkov's monster game enough to hand Olympiacos first win over Peristeri / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Hellenic Basketball Federation Credit Hellenic Basketball Federation

Olympiacos Piraeus needed a good last quarter to beat Peristeri 79-67 (11-20, 17-15, 23-19, 28-13) and make it 1-0 in the Greek Basket League quarter-finals.

2-pointers this season

58%19,4Points made:19,4Accuracy:58,1%Place in standings:9Record max:26Record min:11Most made 2FGs:Aleksandr VezenkovTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Game 2 will be held on Friday in Peristeri. In case the Reds win, they will be facing Promitheas Patras in a best-of-five semifinal series starting next week.

Peristeri entered the game in impressive fashion, leading by as many as 13 (13-26) after the first twelve minutes of the contest.

The hosts were sloppy on both ends, but soon managed to catch up (24-28), thanks to their strength near the basket. However, as it had happened in the regular season game between the two teams held in Piraeus, Peristeri effectively held down their big rival to low shooting percentages with the use of zone defense.

Olympiacos went 8/27 from behind the arc, while the guests dished out 18 assists for a total of 67 points, getting easy buckets on several occasions. The Reds were down 51-54 at the beginning of the fourth quarter and the win was up for grabs, even with five minutes left on the game clock (63-62).

Kostas Sloukas, Sasha Vezenkov and Giannoulis Larentzakis took the situation into their own hands and led the hosts to a partial score of 16-5 that essentially sealed the outcome.

Vezenkov racked up a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds in 31 minutes. Sloukas added another 20 points, albeit on bad shooting percentages, plus 5 assists.

Terran Petteway and Dimitris Moraitis led Peristeri on offense, but the Greek guard's decision-making went south in the fourth quarter.

Olympiacos Piraeus: Sasha Vezenkov 20 (7/12 FG, 6/8 FT, 15 REB, 6 AST, 3 TO), Kostas Sloukas 20 (5/15 FG, 7/9 FT, 5 AST), Moustapha Fall 11 (4/4 FG, 3/5 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST).

Peristeri: Terran Petteway 19 (7/16 FG, 2/2 FT, 4 REB, 3 TO), Dimitris Moraitis 14 (5/17 FG, 6 REB, 6 AST, 4 TO), Christos Saloustros 11 (3/4 FG, 2/2 FT), Tomas Gielo 9 (4 REB).

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