Olympiacos still at the top
Olympiacos was impressive in the second half against Laboral Kutxa that he beat 76-64 and continuous undefeated with the Euroleague TOP-16.
Olympiacos started the first quarter well with Dunston and Spanoulis offering offensive solutions, but also with the Basques answering back and thus leading 17-18 at the end of it.
In the second quarter, the reds were facing problems with their defense, which had an impact in the offensive function of the team as well and hence Laboral was leading 28-37.
However, captain Vassilis Spanoulis took matters in his own hands in the third quarter and showed the way to his team mates. Mantzaris and Hunter were doing a great job and with a partial 26-16 streak the players of Giannis Sfairopoulos were leading 54-53 at the end of the third quarter.
In the last quarter, the water was under the bridge, Olympiacos had imposed its law on both ends of the court and the 76-64 victory for the Piraeus team was a fact, together with a 4-0 record for the Euroleague TOP-16.
The quarters: 17-18, 28-37, 54-53, 76-64.
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Petway 7(1), Hunter 14 (7 reb), Dunston 7(7 reb), Σπανούλης 27(4/8 3p., 6 as.), Sloukas 2, Printezis 2, Mantzaris 7(2), Katsivelis, Darden 5, Lojeski 5(1).
Laboral Kutxa (Navarro): Adams 12(2), James 4, Iverson 6(8 reb), Causer 3, Tili 6, San Emeterio 4, Begic 8(9 reb), Bertans 6, Hansbrow 5(1), Shengelia 10.
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: «It's an important victory because as you move forward each victory is more important than the previous one. TOP-16 is a tough League that takes a lot ot complete and it means that you have to remain ready mentally, focused and strong throughout. We had that tonight. Congratulations to our players for this victory, they totally deserve it. We did not start well. We were nervous and did not make the right decisions, when to shoot, to pass, to penetrate. We weren't good in defense as well. We received points from penetrations that we knew we had to stop. We started the second half more focused and did what we had to do from the beginning. We calmed down at half time and began to play better from our defense, thus playing better in our offense as well and reaching an easy victory despite a mediocre first half. It's important that we managed to keep them almost 20 points below their average scoring. It's not just defense. We scored 48 points finding rhythm in our offense through our defense. I would like to congratulate our fans for supporting us in crucial moments of the game. They gave us enough motivation. We thank them and hope for the same support in the games that follow".
IBON NAVARRO: "We played a good first half in both our defense and offense. We said in the locker rooms that Olympiacos would make a come back, would react and we should be ready. We did not do it on neither end of the floor. Olympiacos used traps, we did not react when they run and we did not stop them with fouls. We did nothing from what we had said we should do at half time. Of course we need to stand on Spanoulis's performance. He's one of the stars of the European Basketball. His game succeeded to put his team back into the game in the third quarter. It was one of the keys of the game".