A defensive masterpiece allowed Olimpia to prevail over Olympiacos during a big night for the club. The 65-53 triumph was the ice on the cake after celebrating Gigi Datome’s career, Kyle Hines record-breaking appearance and finally Coach Ettore Messina 300th EuroLeague win, the second coach to reach the milestone.
Olimpia attempted twice to get away. A first-half seven-point lead was canceled when Thomas Walkup found his shooting rhythm and Nikola Milutinov was effective inside. The second one in the fourth quarter proved to be decisive. “Late in the game we put the ball in the right hands,” Coach Messina remarked after two ice-cold central periods. While Nikola Mirotic, who had 20 points, was the most consistent, Kevin Pangos rose to the challenge in the second half. He generated the crucial run with seven straight points, got into a nice rhythm, scored 15 points in the second half and led the team. “This is the most impactful I have seen him in a long time. He scored, he took responsibility and he did all these things against a superiore defensive player like Thomas Walkup and very well organized defensive team”, Coach Messina said.
Shavon Shields started the game on fire, making all of his four attempts from the field, “then we didn’t involve him enough – Messina said – we still have to improve, our injured players will give us more balance between the first and second unit, but we need to use our mismatches inside more, executing the pick and roll less consistently for example.” Shields finished with 12 points but he made a crucial play at the right time. When Olimpia erected a wall, Kevin Pangos stole the ball defensively and assisted Mirotic, then Shields made his steal and assisted Johannes Voigtmann. Olimpia never looked back again. In the end, Mirotic made another three, then Micolò Melli and finally Pangos to close the game for good.
Olimpia scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, had a 14-point biggest margin and held Olympiacos to just 12, 21 in the entire second half. Talk about a defensive masterpiece.
