First to the end

Olympiacos was the big winner of the derby against Panathinaikos (72-67) and has practically secured the home court advantage till the end of the play-offs.

The game did not have a good start for the Piraeus team. Shermadini had foul trouble early one, while the team seemed to be missing focus at the beginning. However, as time was passing, Olympiacos was getting better. The three-pointer by Papanikolaou woke everyone up and Olympiacos ran a partial 13-3 for the 17-14 with the first quarter ending at 20-22 in favor of the “greens”.

The “reds” imposed their game in the second quarter, ran the fast-break and got better and better as time went by. Spanoulis, Printezis and Papanikolaou gave solutions and the ‘reds’ went to the locker rooms with a 38-33 score in their favor.

The European and Greek Champions having Stratos Perperoglou in a leading role managed to make a 10 point game (56-46). Law and Spanoulis took over from that point on and the team of Giorgos Bartzokas reached a 72-67 victory that practically seals the absolute home advantage till the play-offs.

Τhe quarters: 20-22, 38-33, 58-52, 72-67.
Οlympiacos (Bartzokas): Hines 6, Law 12 (1), Antic 2, Spanoulis 11 (1 3p., 7as.), Perperoglou 10 (2), Shermadini 2, Sloukas 4, Powell 5, Printezis 11 (1), Papanikolaou 9 (2).
Panathinaikos (Pedoulakis): Schortsanitis 14, Bramos, Maciulis 4, Kapono 3 (1), Ukic 4, Lasme 11, Tsartsaris 5 (1), Diamantidis 17 (2), Gist 3 (1), Banks 2, Xanthopoulos 4.

GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “The game, this classic Greek derby, was held in a very good atmosphere. The fans pushed us to the victory within an absolutely sporting manner. Both teams tried. We completely controlled most part of the game maintaining 10 point leads. We did not have the patience to finish it. Panathinaikos came back due to our mistakes. That’s the only way they could do it. Congratulations to Panathinaikos, they did not give up, they tried to the end. Congratulations to our players as well. We played three games without our basic PG, Mantzaris. We have to evaluate the victory appropriately. It doesn’t give us any titles, just the home court advantage to the end. Missed free throws hurt us, they play a part in the game, but it’s not an issue of concern. It may have been the pressure, maybe fatigue, although they could have made the difference between victory and defeat. The 10 offensive rebounds we grabbed in the second half proved our combative nature, it has been one more parameter in our favor. Congratulations to the fans, the two teams, my players.

We move ahead. We have a game Thursday. The inside game, as you call it, is a big thing. We can play the post with many players. Of course we don’t have what Schortsanitis can give, because we don’t have that kind of a player. We tried to break Mr. Pedoulakis’ defense with passes from the inside out. We did that well. He prefers to protect the basket. We were patient when Lasme was inside the basket and they were switching the pick n’ rolls. The extra pass gave us a lot of balance. Playing defense on the switches produces a miss-match; we have been effective with this. Each day, each game gives room for improvement. We were left without a point-guard in the critical games, we’ll see from that point on. Tonight’s game has only been positive for us.

Perperoglou is taller than Maciulis, there is no miss-match there. Panathinaikos has the option to play Schortsanitis at “5” and Maciulis at “4” and have a shooter added. But this makes them vulnerable in other areas. Every choice a coach makes has pros and cons. What really counts is the response to your instructions. How badly you want to win, that’s what counts. We did it, for the reasons you already know”.

ΚOSTAS PAPANIKOLAOU: “First of all I would like to say that this was the best derby ever in respect of atmosphere, change of leads, with an incredible audience. I’m very happy for the victory that helps us both ranking and psychologically wise. I don’t want to talk in strategies; the coaches are ones to talk about these things. We have to keep working hard, be ready for the Greek League and the Euroleague and not get unpleasantly surprised, like against PAOK (76-71). That’s how a big team should operate. Congratulations to Panathinaikos for the effort. A big “thanks” to our fans for supporting us tonight. I think that in four days it’s 34 years from that tragic day in 1981 and “Gate 7”. I would like to dedicate the victory to the guys that watch us from above and to their families”.