Olympiacos Beat Baskonia 106-89: The Neglected First Quarter and How Bartzokas Rebuilt His Defense Mid-Game

At Buesa Arena, the first quarter ended and I wrote a short line in my notebook: 36-26. Olympiacos scored 36 points but allowed Baskonia to answer with 26. I sat still for a few seconds after the buzzer, because this kind of start has become uncomfortably familiar for big European clubs: they let the opponent play at their preferred tempo, then pay for it with defense that runs out of breath. The first stumble never made me fall — it taught me how to stand up right there on the track — and it felt like both Olympiacos and I were relearning that lesson in the second half.

Bartzokas admitted afterwards: "They play with very good pace and started the game with great desire, making almost everything in the first quarter." He made no attempt to hide that his team had lost control across the opening ten minutes.

Context: a game of calculations

This is the early stage of the EuroLeague season, when every team is still assembling its system and searching for chemistry. Olympiacos entered with the pressure of a giant, while Baskonia are a mid-tier club struggling with personnel.

On paper, Baskonia have long been known as a talent development pipeline — a place that gives players a chance to build a name and then sells them on at a higher value. But at this moment they are severely short in the paint. Bartzokas said: "I don't know what happened with Len. Fall arrived late." Kurucs and Sedekerskis — natural forwards — were forced to play as bigs.

This is not a tactical choice but the consequence of injuries and the delays of the transfer market, a perennial headache in European basketball because the NBA cut-down calendar does not align with national league registration windows. The schedule makes the picture even more complex. Olympiacos had to play the Greek Super Cup before diving into an away run against Zalgiris, Bologna and Iraklis. Bartzokas was blunt: "We need time. We are not magicians."

Reading the game through each adjustment

Olympiacos's brightest point was not their 106-point offense but their capacity to correct mistakes. Bartzokas said: "We had to rebuild our defensive approach, put some stops and finish the game without problems." He added that they raised their athleticism level and found balance between offense and defense.

What does this mean tactically? From 26 points conceded in the first quarter, Olympiacos allowed Baskonia only 89 in total. In other words, across the remaining three quarters they conceded just 63 points — the defensive standard of an elite team. The ability to adjust in-game is a quality that is hard to teach and hard to buy; it separates a great team from one that merely owns talent.

On offense, Bartzokas described a layered system: chances to score in transition combined with attacks from the low post. Olympiacos did not attack on a single axis; they ran when the opportunity came and also knew how to feed the ball inside. Their opponent — with a thin big-man rotation — was a perfect target for that approach. The low-post attacks almost certainly aimed straight at the weakness Baskonia were forced to expose.

That was also the moment I recalled one of my professional principles: a good broadcaster is not the one with the answers, but the one who knows where the story is going. This game moved from chaos to control, and Bartzokas was the man who knew where it would turn.

One name stood out: Dorsey with 25 points, the game's top scorer. But that number must be read carefully. Twenty-five points in a single game, against a short-handed opponent, is not enough to conclude anything about his role or consistency. This is a small sample, and this game was not a fair test.

Meanwhile, Vezenkov offered a notable line: "Tariff from early, but the 89 points in defense are many." A star speaking up about defensive standards right after a 17-point win — that is the mark of a high-discipline locker room. And Antic had a line about Tyrique Jones: "I would punch him between the eyes!" Even as an off-court joke, it reflects a tense physical matchup in the paint.

A counter-intuitive angle: this win proves nothing yet

There is a strong temptation to look at 106-89 and conclude Olympiacos are at their peak. I want to ask the reverse question: is this a strong enough test to judge their true strength?

Baskonia entered without genuine big men. When an opponent is forced to use forwards at center, they usually lose rim protection and defensive rebounding. Olympiacos exploited that well, but it says little about how they will cope against a team with a full, healthy frontcourt. A heavyweight opponent could neutralize the low-post edge Bartzokas is building.

Moreover, Bartzokas himself admitted the team lost the ball many times through their own mistakes. The turnover issue remains, merely masked by high shooting efficiency in this specific game. Against better defenses, those mistakes become fatal. And conceding 26 points in the opening quarter shows a defense that is not yet stable — exactly as Bartzokas called it: too much for their level.

Finally, the claim that Olympiacos are the defending champion requires careful verification. If this is a confusion between a domestic and a continental title, the entire 'champion and the customer' narrative frame would need adjustment. In my trade, the worst days in front of the microphone become the kindest stories later — and one lesson from them is: never build a story on an unverified fact.

What to watch

Olympiacos have shown the character to correct themselves — something they will need over the tough away run ahead. Baskonia, with their personnel problem, must add big men soon or risk sinking down the standings. And Dorsey — will 25 points become a nightly standard or just a fleeting moment?

The real question is not who wins on an opening night, but who learns to stand firm when a congested schedule squeezes out practice time. In Europe, where there is no NBA-style salary cap, success comes from adaptability. And in a long season, the team that reads its own rhythm first will go the furthest. From the running track to the basketball court, every athlete heads toward one destination: the moment of being truly themselves.