Bennet Cantu edge out Olympiacos 64-63 in a Pala Desio thriller – Euro league Recap
On November 9, Giorgi Shermadini hit a game-winning free throw with 7.8 seconds to go as Bennet Cantu beat Olympiacos 64-63 at Pala Desio. The hosts, who have returned to the Turkish Airlines Euro league after a 17-year absence,
maintained their perfect home record and have now moved up to 3-1 in Group A.
Olympiacos, on the other hand, lost its second consecutive game on the road and dropped to 1-3.
“A great win, in a real Euro league game – very tough, with a lot of contact, and we were able to make the right plays at the right moments in the second half,” Cantu centre Denis Marconato said of their victory after the game.
Maarten Leunen led the winners with 12 points and six rebounds while veteran Denis Marconato had 10 points, six assists and three blocks in their second consecutive victory.
Vassilis Spanoulis led Olympiacos with a game-high 23 points on a perfect 9 for 9 shooting from free throw line, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists. Marko Keselj added 11 points, hitting 3 for 5 from three-point
range, and grabbed four rebounds in the loss.
Bennet Cantu played a better floor game and dished out 19 assists as compared to just eight by the visiting team.
Olympiacos’ Piraeus played well early and propelled the Greeks to a 14-9 lead before Shermadini dunked to make it 14-11. Gecevicius responded with a pair of free throws to restore the 5 points again, but Shermadini hit a free throw
at in the last minute of the first quarter to cut Olympiacos’ lead to four, 16-12.
Olympiacos stretched their lead to 27-18 midway through the second quarter and were all set to pull away. However, Cantu started to find their groove on the offense and reeled off a 13-7 run to make it a three-point play, 34-31,
at halftime.
Bennet the exploded with an 11-2 run to effectively complete the comeback and in doing so took a 42-36 edge. Olympiacos however struck back quickly in the last six minutes of the third quarter, outscoring Cantu 13-3, to maintain
a four-point lead 49-45, going into the last ten minutes.
In a tightly contested last quarter, Bennet made the push and managed to tie the score at 61 with just one minute to go in the final buzzer.
Maarten Launen successfully drove to the rim to give Cantu a two-point lead, but Vassilis Spanoulis pinned two free throws for yet another tie at 63.
Shermadini was fouled trying to roll off a screen and he hit a free throw to put Olympiacos ahead once again at 64-63. With few seconds left on the clock, Kyle Hines tried a shot from two-point range but the ball did not go in.
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