Unstoppable
Olympiacos bested Unicaja Malaga 77-72 for the premiere of the second round of the Euroleague TOP-16 and reached a 7-1 record. Olympiacos ranks only first of the group.
The game did not start well for the team of Giannis Sfairopoulos. Poor shooting and nervousness had the 'reds' trailing 11-17 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter Olympiacos improved its image in the offense, but the problem with defense pertained and hence half time ended 29-33 for the guests.
The game took a completely different turn in the third quarter due to the great defense played by the Piraeus team. Olympiacos set the foundations, was leading 55-52 at the end of the third quarter and showed the Spanish team who the boss of the match - up was. The hosts completely controlled the situation in the last quarter and reached a 77-72 victory.
The quarters: 11-17, 29-33, 55-52, 77-72.
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Petway, Hunter 3, Dunston 6 (9reb), Spanoulis 18 (10as), Sloukas 9 (3reb), Printezis 13, Mantzaris 6 (3reb), Lafayette 6 (1), Darden 2, Lojeski 12 (2), Tsairelis 2.
Unicaja (Plaza): Gabriel 7, Markovic 4, Vasileiadis 9 (3), Toolson 8, Thomas 9, Granger 13 (2), Vazquez 6, Kuzminskas 3, Stephenson 3 (1), Green 8, Golubovic 2.
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "It's a very important victory, because after the break it's like beginning all over again. Usually, the teams that had been doing well are pressured to win. We witnessed this in group repeatedly, that's why our victory is so important. We did not play our best game. We missed some shots. Our defense was bad in the first quarter. We were nervous in offense, but our defense kept us in the game. We talked during half-time and decided what we needed to do. We were very good in the second half against Unicaja that is first with the ACB in Spain. We made some easy shots, we had a clear head and I believe that we deserved to win, since we scored 48 points in the second half. I congratulated my players. We are very happy to have won our 500th Euroleague game and having honored players of the past, because those who forget about their history cannot make for great teams."
JUAN PLAZA: "When the score was 61-60 we made two critical mistakes that played a key role. Olympiacos once again got control of the game. Olympiacos was very aggressive in the third quarter. We knew that fouls are difficult to be called when you play so aggressively, but we managed to turn back into the game. But those two mistakes were too important".
MICHALIS TSAIRELIS: "I was a little nervous in the beginning but my team mates helped me overcome it. I certainly have not adjusted 100% with the team and I'm going to need time. Congratulations to all the guys for the effort because during the week we were faced with injury and illness problems, but at the end we managed to get the victory. I hope we continue the same way. You always think about the future but you can plan too far ahead. The TOP16 is really difficult and we are looking at the next game only".
KOSTAS VASILEIADIS: "We received too many points. The game was easier for them. If we had kept a tied score, we could have gotten something more. This is our problem. We may be playing good for 30-35 minutes but these five or ten minutes cost us. There are six games left. If we win them, great… Otherwise we'll be gathering experiences for the Spanish League".
MAT LOJESKI: "Malaga is a very good and quality team. We played more as a team in the second half, we made some shots and won the game. The Top-16 is a great battle and we focus at one game at a time. I hope we finish first in the group".