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When a match ends with a buzzer, it makes sense to focus on the last shot. And the shell that fired 85-82 against Maccabi sent all the “rojiblancos”, George Bartzokas and his associates to a mad dance of victory for the first time with such force this year. The fourth game of the Euroleague ended with Olympiakos completing an impressive 2/2 against teams aiming for the Final Four. In the first competition of the year he gets excellent.
The hero of the night, of course, was Aaron Harrison. His own shot knocked the team off the field (and it certainly lifted TV watchers off the couch). It is the dream of every basketball player to make (and throw) such shots, it is at the same time the most shocking thing a fan can hope to go (or in any case when … he went) to the court to see basketball.
Four seconds before the end of the match, Harrison takes the ball from Sasha Vezenkov’s hand and from 9 meters, with Elijah Bryant in good defense, signs the match:
“We also chose Harrison for this gift. When you choose a player, their prehistory and skill in certain parts of the game also play a role. Being a clutch player, not only because he makes the last shot, he can make a good defense or give an assist, it is very important. “Aaron has the 3 big shots with Kentucky behind him, while last year with Galatasaray he took those phases”, Bartzokas commented after the match.
Yes, if the Olympic guard became famous in the United States, it is due to his achievements in 2014, when he starred in 3 games with fire, throwing the same number of great triples with the Kentucky jersey. Both (with Michigan and Wisconsin) were beaters. The first, against Rick Pitino’s Louisville, essentially judged the game. With these shots, his team reached the final of the Final Four! Look at these:
Your old art … So, Harrison. Those shots had marked him. They may have made him rush to make himself available for the draft, with the result that he was unable to make a career in the NBA. Coming to Europe, he almost had to do a hard reset. Galatasaray gave him a contract and Olympiacos the opportunity to star in the Euroleague. The faltering start was logical, until it was adapted (and yet such a thing has not been fully done). In the first two games he had 15 points with 2/8 three points and in the other two 28 with 6/15. His feat with the Maccabi did not go unnoticed. And one of the first to comment on it was his former coach at Galatasaray, Erdooύan Erdo τονan, via twitter, who was also thanked by the now Olympiacos ace.
It was also a shot, however, that gave Olympiakos an informal rematch for 70-71, with which the ‘rojiblancos’ had lost on February 27 (just before going to the confinement) in Tel Aviv, with a shot Similary . By Scotty Wilbekin. Bartzokas recalled: “In the end we had made mistakes, we missed shots and we accepted the triple at 10 ‘before the end ”.
The terrible Maccabi American had tied 82-82, when after Chris Jones’s two missed shots, Othello Hunter got the offensive rebound, passing his gun partner. This time it was not enough, because there was time for Harrison to act and not celebrate at the end the celebrant Simon Misrahi (he turned 81 years old), the oldest player in the Euroleague who is still “present” in his team’s games, always shouting against the referees and celebrating the baskets of the Maccabi players.
“Third game that we lose in the same way. In the last shot, in the last minute “, Giannis Sfeiropoulos monologue and he was right. With CSKA in Moscow, Bayern in Tel Aviv and Olympiakos, the development of the match was more or less the same. Against the Germans, in fact, the score was exactly the same (82-85), with Wilbekin failing to shoot from midfield to equalize.
Neither Greeks nor foreigners … Olympiacos
In the press room Bartzokas was also asked about the celebrations at the end. That is, how many of those moments create the atmosphere within the team and connect the young people with the rest. Answer with an obvious “Yes”, noting, however: “I want to say something. A mistake was made in previous years with the separation of Greek and foreign players. It’s not like that. There are only players and Olympiacos. I think we are showing it as a team. We have different protagonists, but the same dedication and passion to achieve victory ”.
The ‘rojiblancos’ coach had a great conversation. This “Greeks and foreigners” did not make sense as a confrontation, it simply hurt the effort of everyone on the field. He was also right when he spoke of teamwork at all levels. He also did a different rotation, as he said. “You choose to end the game with some players, depending on the opponent, the good or bad night of each player, the conditions of the game and your instinct that can be wrong if you lose the game and if we are all judged by the result.”
Somehow, on Wednesday, Olympiakos beat Armani with their leading men Costa Slouka, Sakil Makisik, Giorgos Printezis, while Hassan Martin, Sasa Vezenkov and Vassilis Spanoulis came out against Maccabi. Common denominator of excellent performance, Harrison. We will stay, however, on two sides of the night.
Martin’s reveal
Martin is turning out to be a true revelation for Olympiakos and if he continues like this, he will definitely be EuroLeague rookie of the year. The ‘rojiblancos’ had every reason to apply for their signing last March. The North American pivot seems to adapt perfectly to the Olympic game, draws a lot of energy, perfectly uses his left hand, rebounds, plays defense, moving perfectly without the ball, either to complete a pick-up roll or to get assists near the basket, which completes with great comfort and … 91.2% in two points (21/23). With 10.2p and 6p, the score makes an ideal start with the aim of a similar continuation to the end. Against Maccabi he was perfect, except for the missed shot. Its only weak point.
And the leader that follows
Hassan has every reason to be thirsty, to ask for distinction, to know that now is his chance. At the same time, the smokiest gunpowder player in the Euroleague continues his recital with … adolescent passion. We will see Spanoulis less on the court, in terms of participation time. This does not mean that you will not be able to do what you have been used to for years. The 38-year-old leader looks in excellent condition, the first step is still the engine to reach the basket comfortably and of course he continues to break records. This time he passed Juan Carlos Navarro in the most accurate shots, inside a child. With this arrangement:
But even more than that, the 3 great defenses he made at the end, even against a taller opponent, impressed. Along with Costas Papanikolaou’s 6 (!) Assists (equaling his Euroleague record), they were two separate parts of the Olympiacos game, which really seems to be walking a different path than the previous two years. The next stop is Munich and Andrea Trinkieri’s difficult match with Bayern.
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