Olympiakos gears up for Euroleague play-offs with Nizhny win

By George Georgakopoulos

Olympiakos completed its campaign in the top-16 of the Euroleague with a 77-70 home win over Russia?s Nizhny and is preparing for the all-important play-offs that begin next week. Its opponent will probably be Barcelona.

Despite playing without captain Vassilis Spanoulis once again, and knowing that the game had no bearing on its place in the group as its third place was sealed last week, the Reds managed to find an incentive to beat the Russians and please the few thousands of fans who attended the game at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Good Friday.

Olympiakos led from the start with a 25-18 lead after the first quarter and a 40-30 advantage at half-time, but a poor third period allowed Nizhny to edge ahead (55-54) just before the 30th minute.

A solid fourth period was enough for the Greeks to clinch victory by seven points, with Matt Lojesky being the top scorer notching up 17 points.

The game was marked by the return to action of Brent Petway and the significant contribution of Vassilis Kavvadas.