No mercy: dominant Olympiacos sweep PAO by 28, push to secure a top-four finish / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

In the latest edition of the rich Greek derby's history, Olympiacos Piraeus (17-8) welcomed their archrivals Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (6-17) at Peace and Friendship Stadium.

Player of the Game EFF 25 Moustapha Fall Points 13 Accuracy 6-7 Rebounds 6 Assists 5

Though, the Reds showed no peace and friendship for their opponents at all, crushing PAO 101-73 (38-13, 20-20, 20-18, 23-22) and reaching the biggest ever win in the EuroLeague derby.

Moreover, Olympiacos extended Panathinaikos' dreadful away record to 1-12.

Oly opened up the game with a 22-6 push. Moustapha Fall alone outscored Panathinaikos 9-6. The French big man was aided by Sasha Vezenkov, Thomas Walkup, and Tyler Dorsey.

As Olympiacos gained a 16-point lead, they did not stop. Eventually, their advantage reached 25 points (36-11). The same margin differed teams before the second quarter (38-13). Olympiacos were 8/10 on twos and 6/8 on threes.

That was the biggest EuroLeague difference (25) against Panathinaikos in a quarter ever, per Javier Gancedo.

If it was not enough, Hassan Martin and Kostas Sloukas-led Oly built their lead up to 32 points (50-18) in the second period. Panathinaikos managed to play a better stretch at the end of the quarter and both squads went in the locker room with Olympiacos guiding the way by 25 (58-33).

Even though PAO started the second half with a 13-2 spurt and cut their deficit to 14 points (46-60), Olympiacos, led by Sasha Vezenkov, quickly pushed the gas pedal again, arranging a 15-1 run (78-49). That was the knockout for Panathinaikos, as Oly's advantage continued to grow in the fourth.

Six Olympiacos' players were in double-digits regarding scoring numbers. Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov were top scorers with 16 points apiece.

Moustapha Fall had a team-high 25 PIR, which went along 13 points (6/7 2PT, 1/1 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 1 block.

Points this season

45%73,8Points made:73,8Accuracy:45,3%Place in standings:15Record max:95Record min:48Best scorer:Nemanja NedovicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"Congratulations to the players and the fans. It was complicated before the start, we only had one day and a small practice to prepare for this game. But the motivation in this kind of game against Panathinaikos is always huge, especially from our fans. They are pushing the players to play hard," Georgios Bartzokas said post-game.

Georgios Papagiannis was the top performer for the losing side, posting 18 points (9/13 2PT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks, and 26 PIR.

"Obviously, it's a very tough night for us. The way we started the game was terrible, and although we tried in the next quarters and had some balance in the score, the performance in the first quarter was so bad we couldn't claim anything better," Dimitris Priftis spoke after the heavy loss.

Ioannis Papapetrou and Stefan Jovic were not on the playing Panathinaikos roster.

Olympiacos: Sasha Vezenkov 16 (5 REB), Kostas Sloukas 16 (9 AST), Moustapha Fall 13 (6 REB, 5 AST), Hassan Martin 13, Kostas Papanikolaou 13, Shaquielle McKissic 10 (8 REB, 6 AST).

Panathinaikos: Daryl Macon 23, Georgios Papagiannis 18 (9 REB), Nemanja Nedovic 16.

Highlights

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