And now, Malaga
Olympiacos managed to overcome Ilisiakos by defeating the team 83-73, and now the reds are focused towards Thursday’s clash against Malaga in the fifth week of Euroleague’s TOP 16 round. Great performance by Jamario Moon in his debut.
During the first quarter, Euroleague’s Back2Back champions couldn’t manage to hit from beyond the arc. Some bad choices on offense as well as the lack of concentration on defense let Ilisiakos have the edge against the reds after one quarter, with a score of 11-18.
During the second quarter, Jamario Moon’s entering the game got the team started on offense and Giorgos Bartzokas’ group cut the deficit to 19-24. The next three minutes, however, weren’t good for Olympiacos. Continuous mistakes on offense and on defense (largely due to a lack of concentration) allowed the visitors to run a 10-0 streak wich led to their jumping ahead on a big 19-34 lead. At that point Euroleague’s Back2Back champs flipped the switch. Papapetrou, Sloukas and Moon did an exceptional job, offered some great, entertaining basketball and got the score to 29-38 with an amazing dunk by Jamario Moon, who after the half ended with the reds down by 1 (39-40), was arguably the star of the night.
With a 12-5 run the Reds jumped up ahead with a 51-45 lead, with Spanoulis, Printezis and Perperoglou being really active at the beginning of the second half. It was clear that Olympiacos had finally found some rhythm, when the team got up by 9 (62-53) one minute before the buzzer sounded on the third quarter, which ended with the team up 64-58.
In the game’s last quarter Olympiacos kept full control of the match with the lead being close to 10 points. With the Moon dunk in the 39th minute the margin reached double digits for the first time in the game (79-68). Finally, the game ended on a high note for the Reds as the team got the 83-73 win.
Quarters: 11-18, 39-40, 64-58, 83-73
Olympiacos (Bartzokas): Moon 15 (2), Spanoulis 12 (2), Perperoglou 9 (1), Papapetrou 4, Sloukas 10, Collins 3 (1), Simons 8, Begic 2, Printezis 10, Mantzaris 5 (1), Kavvadas 5, Katsivelis.
Ilisiakos (Liogas): Kafkis 12 (2), Fakopoulidis, Antonakis 5 (1), Chatzis 22 (2), Dorkofikis, Stephens 6, Vavatsikos 5 (1), Ioannou 14 (1), Tzougkarakis 2, Mbodj 7.
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: «Our approach of the game in the first quarter was wrong. Something that keeps happening, stops being considered as a coincidence. We had a 12 hour trip and many roster changes. We came into the game really laid back. Ilisiakos had two veteran guards, Kafkis and Chatzis, and took the lead which put pressure on us. It’s going to be like this from now on; no team will have anything to lose against us», is what the team’s coach stated at first, while he later added «It was Moon’s first game in Europe. He’s a really talented player and it’s really important that he played so well, not having practiced for three days. We now turn our sights to the highly important match against Malaga. It’s clearly a health issue. Acie was a huge factor in last year’s Euroleague win as well as a big part of our core. Brent was is also a big part of our team. However, whatever happens is best for the team».
IOANNIS PAPAPETROU: «We knew that we shouldn’t take it easy, but in the first half we were laid back. That’s not permitted. We look at each game as one game a time. Ilisiakos fought for 40 minutes to get the win. We are looking at Thursday’s bout. It’s all about concentration. Each day we train hard. There’s room to improve and we should enter games more concentrated and less at ease».
JAMARIO MOON: «I liked this game. I really wanted to play. I did whatever coach asked me to do and I wanted to showcase my skills. I can bring energy to the team, make open shots, cut to the basket without the ball or score close to the basket».
STELIOS IOANNOU: «We had three players down with the flu, two that walked away from the club, but we had a great showing against Olympiacos and we showed our fans that nothing’s over. We are focused towards Saturday’s match and we want the win».