Still undefeated
Olympiacos bested Siena on the road 70-62, has a 4-0 record in the Euroleague and goes on undefeated in all competitions.
Olympiacos began the game on fast pace and after three minutes the Back2Back European Champions managed to reach a two digit margin (0-11). Plus 12 (4-16) was the broadest margin or the reds with Begic and Dunston dominating the two posts.
The first quarter ended 11-20 in favor of the guests who sustained the difference above 10 points throughout the second quarter. Printezis and Lojeski took over scoring from the front line and half-time closed at 23-36.
With consecutive threes in the beginning of the third quarter the reds sent the difference at its greatest value (26-43). The Italians ran a partial 9-3 and closed in 35-46 at 26’. Spanoulis and Perperoglou marked 35-50 at 28’. The players of Giorgos Bartzokas continued playing excellent defense; the Italians were finding it extremely difficult to find a way to the basket the third quarter finished at 42-54.
The beginning of the fourth quarter was not a good one for Olympiacos. Siena took advantage of that and made a seven points game (49-56) at 32’. But at that point the Back2Back European Champions came back and with a streak of 8-0 made the score 49-64 following a tremendous dunk by Brent Petway and actually sealed victory with the home team only managing to narrow the final margin.
The quarters: 11-20, 23-36, 42-54, 62-70
Siena (Crespi): Viggiano 5 (1), Hunter 6, Cournooh 3, Rochestie 13 (1), Carter 4, Ress 5 (1), Ortner 2, Hackett 6, English 13 (2), Green 5 (1).
Olympiacos (Bartzokas): Petway 4 (6reb), Law 6 (1), Dunston 9 (7reb, 3st), Spanoulis 9 (1 3p, 5as), Perperoglou 8, Sloukas 4, Simmons, Begic 9 (4 reb, 4bl), Printezis 6, Mantzaris 6 (2), Katsivelis, Lojeski 9 (2).
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “We controlled the tempo for 37 minutes, but we lost the last quarter and gave Siena the chance to catch up. We obviously made a good defensive game. Our goals had been to stop Hackett that everyone knows is their best creator and scorer. We did a good job on him. We missed some free shots and it shows in our percentages. At the end it’s the victory that counts, that’s what we are keeping, we are happy and we are moving on. Congratulations to Siena, I respect them a lot and I wish them good luck. Siena is still the Italian champion and leads the Italian League. They easily beat Bologna and Scavolini and think they are still quite competitive. They are a young team and need time to adjust to the difficulties of Euroleague and to become a team. As for the financial crisis in Greece, we are very well aware of it. I was with a team facing financial turmoil, Maroussi. Olympiaos has lowered its budget, but during the last couple of years the team has won the Euroleague, which means money isn’t everything”.
MIRZA BEGIC: “Following the game in Brazil I have had lower back problems, but I’m getting into rhythm as time goes by. Tonight we had a good game. The important thing is that we won. We have not have played very well as a team, but it’s important that we won and that we keep winning even when we are not in the best possible shape since it’s still very early in the season”.
*Bad luck for Kendrick Simmons. The American center of our team has dislocated his left shoulder during the second quarter of the game against Siena and following the team’s return to Greece will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the damage and time he will need away from courts.