Terrible week for Greek hoopsters in Europe
Suddenly it’s all uphill for Greece’s two representatives in the Euroleague after suffering more losses this week, this time on the road. And while Panathinaikos pushed Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia all the way on Thursday, Olympiakos was particularly disappointing at Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday.
The 76-67 loss at Krasnodar was not too a bad result for Panathinaikos, but given the course of the game, during which the Greeks led by up to 12 points, they will feel sorry for not upsetting their Russian hosts. Their top scorer James Feldeine (13 points) and the improved Vlado Jankovic (12 points) were not enough for them.
Worse, this was their third loss in four games, and making the cut for the play-offs appears increasingly difficult for them. They will need to start winning on the road to advance.
Olympiakos produced one of its worst performances this season to go down 75-55 in Lithuania, as Zalgiris (coached by former Panathinaikos star Sarunas Jasikevicius) proved exceptionally well prepared and led the Reds throughout the game.
The hosts had Greek Ian Vouyioukas score 13 points, while the desperately poor shooting rate of Olympiakos left Darius Johnson-Odom as its top scorer with just 11 points.
The Reds are now on a 2-2 record and lie seventh in their group of eight, just like Panathinaikos.
In the Eurocup on Tuesday PAOK lost 81-68 at home to Oldenburg and Aris went down 82-67 at Alba Berlin.
