Olympiacos: Palau factor slips away (75-77)

We will have to win on the road. The Barça team lost to Olympiacos (75-77) in the first match of the Euroleague playoffs.. In a tense match in which the Blaugrana found it difficult to get into the rhythm of the match, the best defense of the tournament won, repeatedly thwarting the Blaugrana’s comeback plans.

The cules will have to build on their strength this Friday in the second leg in Palau (21:00) and add at least one away win if they want to reach another Final Four.

Start stuck

It was difficult to start. Roger Grimau’s team came out unbalanced in the first minutes of the game, which allowed the Greek team to take control of the scoreboard (0-6, min. 3). It wasn’t until Yan Vesely

He converted a free kick that the Barça counterattack did not like with his first points (2-6). Little by little, maintaining some nervousness on the court, the Blaugranas reorganized themselves. After three Jabari Parker, Laprovittola achieved a score of 2+1, from which Palau jumped when they saw how the culés neutralized the advantage of Greece and a new match began (12-13, min. 8).

After equality was restored on the scoreboard and established on the court from the very beginning of the match, the first half was marked by a lack of control on the part of both teams. Especially in Barça, which had some losses and a few simple goals conceded, which allowed the guests to strengthen.

Equality is slightly broken

With a shot Abrines The score was 18-19, the first quarter was over, and the captain himself was responsible for leading the team in the second. He made it 28-25 with two straight threes, giving the ball wings and changing the momentum of the first half. Now the lead that the culés had maintained for most of the period disappeared in the blink of an eye before the break. After unsportsmanlike behavior and an attacking foul by Jan Vesely, the Piraeus team was able to reduce the gap (35-44).

The beginning of the second half was copied from the beginning of the first. Barca did not understand how to build an attacking game, and this led to losses that were paid for in gold (47-60). Threes Ricky and Abrines They shed light on the Kule attack, but the Greeks responded without hesitation to the local onslaught. Now that Palau had turned into hell, the Kule were able to close the gap on the scoreboard, enter the final round with a score of 54-61 and believe in victory.

They’re losing the tip factor

The last quarter was a real duel. Thanks to the communication between the fans and the team, Barça became strong. With stronger defense and better shooting, Roger Grimau’s men came within striking distance of Bartzokas’ men three times, but unfortunately the Greeks eventually won (75-77). Given this defeat, the Kulez will have to work hard if they want to secure their presence in F4 in Berlin and win at least one game at the Friendship of the World Stadium.

MATCH PROFILE

BARSA, 75
OLYMPIAKOS, 77

Barça: Vesely (3), Kalinic (6), Satoranski (0), Laprovittola (9), Parker (13) – starting five – Da Silva (4), Ricky (10), Hernangomez (13), Abrines (11), Jokubaitis (0)

Olympiacos: Sikma (4), Peters (1), Walkup (0), Canaan (14), Fall (11) – starting five – William – Goss (15), Wright (4), Larentzakis (2), Brazdeikis (2), Petrusev (12), Milutinov (3), Makkisic.

Particles: 18–19, 17–25 // 19–17, 21–16

Judges: Damir Yavor, Tomislav Khordov and Rain Peerandi