Sasha Vezenkov's 33-point game keeps Olympiacos afloat in Rhodes / News - Basketnews.com

Olympiacos needed 33 points from Sasha Vezenkov to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Kolossos in Rhodes, two days after suffering the heaviest loss of the season to Armani Milan.

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

After Peristeri six weeks ago, Kolossos Rhodes gave Olympiacos Piraeus a scare in the Greek league, threatening to end their unbeaten domestic run.

Points this season

50%84,7Points made:84,7Accuracy:50,4%Place in standings:4Record max:117Record min:60Best scorer:Aleksandr VezenkovTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Finally, the hosts came up short, mainly because Sasha Vezenkov and Tarik Black decided the game by a narrow 80-79 (23-22, 11-16, 26-25, 20-16). The Bulgarian Euroleague MVP candidate was the one who made the game-winning 3-point shots for the guests with six seconds left.

Olympiacos turned the ball over 15 times but also dished out 23 dimes. Sasha Vezenkov led all scorers with 33 points on 11/15 from the field, going 7/10 from distance and 4/4 on free throws. He also collected 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kostas Papanikolaou scored 14 points on 5/11 FG, plus 3 rebounds and 4 dimes, while Tarik Black played less than 11 minutes, but still logged 9 points and 3 rebounds.

Charis Giannopoulos scored 17 points on 5/13 from the field and 3/3 frre throws for the losing side. The team coached by Ilias Papatheodorou saw three more players in double digits: Michael Dixon with 14 (4/7 FG, 3/3 FT, 4 AST, 4 REB), James Young with 11 (4/8 FG), and Yanick Moreira with 10 (3/10 FG, 6 REB, 4 TO).

Olympiacos racked up their 16th Greek league win in as many games this season, while staying perfect for 41 straight matches since November 22, 2021 when they were defeated by Panathinaikos at home.

As guests, their last Greek league defeat was on April 10, 2019, when they were defeated at Peristeri (81-76) and since then they count 21 consecutive away wins.

That was Kolossos' first home loss in the season after an impeccable 7-0 run, and also their 34th defeat by Olympiacos in as many contests. Olympiacos are still the only Greek league team that has never lost a single game to Kolossos.

Olympiacos Piraeus / Schedule

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan Olympiacos Piraeus83-62 Olympiacos Piraeus FC BarcelonaTue19:00 Olympiacos Piraeus FC Bayern MunichThu19:00

The hosts were up 36-29 in the second quarter and got a fιve-point lead (72-67) with six minutes left to play.

However, Sasha Vezenkov and Tarik Black kept the Greek champs on track. Even when Jmaes Young and Charis Giannopoulos hit consecutive 3-point shots to give their side the lead (79-77), Vezenkov was there to score the game-winning shot, as Dimitris Katsivelis (who won the EuroLeague with the Reds in 2013) missed Kolossos' last chance from downtown.

"We played very badly. We were timid, and not focused on rebounds and the individual abilities of our opponents," Olympiacos' head coach Giorgos Bartzokas commented.

"If we're tired or relaxed, we might pay for it. The Greek league has improved."

"We had a lack of energy, a lack of athleticism, a lack of effort,' Bartzokas stressed in the presser.

"We came to Rhodes from Milan at seven o'clock yesterday morning, having played a tough game. There are two more difficult matches on Tuesday and Thursday. We fell behind for the second game in a row and we have to change it immediately because we have very demanding games ahead of us."

Sasha Vezenkov referred to the train accident that shook Greece this week and ended up in a heavy death toll (57).

"What happened in our country is an unspeakable tragedy," the Bulgarian forward said.

"Basketball is on the back burner. The competent authorities need to see what happened," he went on to say.

"Kolossos had an excellent game. We haven't been playing well these three days and on Tuesday, we face one of the most in-form teams in Europe," Vezenkov concluded referring to Olympiacos' upcoming EuroLeague game vs. FC Barcelona in Piraeus.

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