First defeat
Olympiacos lost a friendly game for the first time this season. The "reds" were defeated by Unicaja Malaga 82-69 for the second day of the Gloria Cup.
Our team was scoring well in the first half. Lojeski and Lafayette were doing a great job in offense and thus the "reds" were leading 25-22 at the end of the first quarter.
The Spanish team was finding the target from behind the 6,75m. arch quite often resulting in the upset of the situation and gaining a 40-44 lead at the end of the first half.
Fatigue was a factor against the players of Giorgos Bartzokas in the third quarter, a fact Unicaja took advantage of and gained the lead in turn (54-66). The 'reds' tried to reverse the situation at the end and closed in 64-76 at 35'. Finally, our team wasn't able to do more and thus lost a friendly game for the first time in the season (69-82).
The quarters: 25-22, 40-44, 54-66, 69-82.
Olympiacos (Bartzokas): Petway 4 (3reb, 1st, 1bl), Hunter 12 (1reb, 1st, 1bl), Dunston 6 (5reb, 1bl), Spanoulis 10 (9as), Sloukas 4 (4reb, 3as), Simmons 4 (1reb, 1bl), Printezis, Mantzaris (4reb, 5as, 1bl), Katsivelis, Lafayette 11 (3 3p, 2reb, 3as), Lojeski 18 (4 3p, 3reb, 1st, 1as), Agravanis.
Unicaja Malaga (Plaza): Markovic 4, Vasileiadis 12 (2), Thomas 2, Nguirane, Karahotzic, Granger 20 (4), Vazquez 4, Kuzminskas 16 (1), Green 17 (5), Golubovic 7.
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: "It was a strong test for us and we are certain to win a lot from this game which was played in a very high tempo. We mainly wish to help our internationals through these games, since they came back with various problems, like being out of shape and facing minor injuries. These games are going to help them but will also help us getter as a team and find roles".
JUAN PLAZA: "For sure friendly games results are not of essence, but winning consecutive games against teams like Anadolu Efes and Olympiacos is important. We did not use a large rotation against Olympiacos tonight and this may cost us tomorrow. When Dragic came to Malaga last season, he was averaging 11 minutes per game. He grew up with us and his future does not depend on me. I'm also waiting to see what is going to happen. It has been an honor though to have worked with him. If he stays, we are going to be able to cope against any team in Europe, if we lose him we are going to suffer and we are going to try and replace him the best we can".