Losing streak finally over: Ante Zizic leads Maccabi to a commanding win over Olympiacos / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Seffi Magriso/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Seffi Magriso/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (8-11) were finally able to snap their eight-game losing streak at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, defeating Olympiacos Piraeus (12-7) 84-69 (19-16, 21-22, 26-18, 18-13) in Israel.

Player of the Game EFF 33 Ante Zizic Points 23 Accuracy 10-12 Rebounds 6 Assists 1

Maccabi started running away from the visitors in the third quarter, going on a 12-2 run to gain a nine-point advantage (52-43). Zizic increased Maccabi's lead to double-digits (55-45), which the hosts maintained and went into the fourth with a solid lead (66-56).

But that wasn't all Maccabi had in store for their home crowd. The Israeli squad started the fourth on a 9-1 run, acquiring a commanding 18-point advantage (75-57). Olympiacos were never able to recover from this blow, as Maccabi came away with a 15-point win.

The last time Maccabi won in the EuroLeague was way back on November 17th, 2021, when they edged out AS Monaco.

“I'm very happy that the first game of our club's 90th year of history ended in a win," coach Sfairopoulos expressed his relief. "We're very happy we won this game to honor two legendary coaches. We're very happy that we won this game after eight losses. And we're very happy that we started to play again in the way I want us to play."

"That means we play excellent on defense. We kept the first ranked team in points per possession in the league to just 69 points. But I think the key was the beginning of the fourth quarter, they didn't score in the first 5 minutes. And I saw the fans celebrating again in the stands and cheering for us and for the team and being happy again."

Ante Zizic dominated for Maccabi, leading the hosts with 23 points (10/12 2PT, 3/5 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, and 33 PIR.

The veteran Georgios Printezis was the high-scorer for Olympiacos, ending with 13 points (3/3 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 4/4 FT), 2 rebounds, and 14 PIR.

Olympiakos Piraeus / Schedule

Maccabi Tel Aviv Olympiakos Piraeus84-69 Olympiakos Piraeus Crvena Zvezda Belgrade01-2719:00

"For us, it was the second game in a row that we didn't play how we wanted," coach Bartzokas said. "It looks like we didn't deserve to win because we didn’t have all those important things that create the result. I'm talking about making fouls when necessary, to hustle, to get the 50-50 balls. We didn't deserve to win. Congratulations to Maccabi."

Ante Zizic gave Maccabi the early 8-2 lead, but Olympiacos didn't let their opponents run away in the first, quickly tying the game at 14. However, Jalen Reynolds allowed Maccabi to gain a three-point advantage after one (19-16).

Olympiacos started the second period well, with Shaquielle McKissic scoring five straight to give the visitors a 28-23 lead. Both teams went back and forth for the remainder of the first half, but Ante Zizic scored his 16th point to put Maccabi up by two going into the break (40-38).

Maccabi: Ante Zizic 23 (6 REB, 33 PIR), Keenan Evans 14, Scottie Wilbekin 13, James Nunnally 11, Jalen Reynolds 8 (5 REB), Angelo Coloiaro 8 (5 REB).

Olympiacos: Georgios Printezis 13, Tyler Dorsey 12, Shaquielle McKissic 9, Moustapha Fall 8.

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