Former Red Bourousis wrecks Olympiakos's hopes for a break

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos tried harder in Game 2 of the Euroleague play-offs in Spain, and Real Madrid was not as good on Thursday as in Game 1, but the Spaniards still emerged victorious on the night with an 82-77 score to get a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

This means that in order to stay alive in the chase for a spot in Milan’s Final Four the holder will need to win both games in Piraeus next week ahead of another trip to Madrid if a fifth game is required.

The Reds had a positive start to the game leading 11-6, but their defense soon gave way, as Real got to be really prolific to advance 30-23 after 10 minutes and 53-44 at half-time.

Olympiakos started controlling the pace of the game and got within striking distance a few minutes into the second half (55-52), but Real Madrid swiftly regained a double-digit advantage (63-52) and got a 13-point lead just before the end of the third period (70-57).

The last-ditch effort by Olympiakos to reduce its arrears (79-75) proved fruitless, as Real was not to be denied on the night.

The game’s top scorer was Real’s Greek forward Yiannis Bourousis, a former Olympiakos player, with 19 points as well as 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Vassilis Spanoulis notched up 18 points for Olympiakos.

Game 3 is scheduled for Easter Monday in Piraeus. If Real wins that, too, it will qualify to the Final Four.