Will not back down!
Olympiacos beat Galatasarary 78-67 in Abdi Ipekcsi proving that tough home courts can break him. Spanoulis with 18 points and Lojeski adding another 15 were the top scorers for the Back2Back European Champions.
The two teams were head to head in the first minutes of the encounter. Galatasaray led 7-4 after three minutes, but after that the Back2Back Champions of Europe totally dominated the floor. Vassilis Spanoulis was extraordinary, whoever was coming to thefloor was absolutely focused on both ends of the court and hence Olympiacos following a 15-0 streak came to lead 7-19 with the Turkish team being unable to react. The captain of our team, Vassilis Spanoulis, scoring 12 points in the first quarter put his team in the leading position (11-22).
The players of Giorgos Bartzokas maintained the same amazing rhythm into the second quarter. With very good shooting percentages and a solid defense at the same time, the reds widened the difference to +16 (20-36), three minutes before the end of the first half that ended 30-42.
The second half did not start well for Olympiacos. Tall players got into foul trouble; Jawai found room to act and the Turks closed in 40-47 at 24’. Spanoulis and Petway maintained the lead for the reds, but Galata succeeded in making a four point game at 28’ (52-56). Actually, Olympiacos was trailing at 29’ following a three by Aroyo and the third quarter ended with the Back2Back Champions of Europe leading 57-59.
Olympiacos showed Galata why it is that the team is climbing the tallest step of the Euroleague pedestal in the last two years. Defense was once again extraordinary, Lojeski and Printezis took over offensively and thus the players of Giorgos Bartzokas came to a 9 point lead (65-74). Bryan Dunston made for a two digit difference (65-76) 1:40’’ before the end and the fate of the game was sealed.
The quarters: 11-22, 30-42, 57-59, 67-78.
Galatasaray (Ataman): Erceg 7, Gordon 5, Koksal 5 (1), Markosishvili 7, Jawai 22, Aldemir, Macvan, Aroyo 10 (2), Guler, Arslan, Dagli 10, Domercant.
Οlympiacos (Bartzokas): Petway 11 (2), Law 2, Dunston 9 (8reb), Spanoulis 18 (2 3p, 3as), Perperoglou 5 (1), Sloukas 5 (1 3p, 4as), Simmons 5, Printezis 5 (1 3p, 6 reb), Agravanis 2, Mantzaris 1, Lojeski 15 (2).
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: «It was a great game in a fantastic atmosphere and we really enjoyed it. The team played an excellent defense in the first quarter and we made good choices in offense. We were expecting that Gatata would react, nevertheless we showed character in end defense wise and we once again made wise choices in offense. It’s a great victory, the first one on the road for the season and we are now looking at the next game. Agravanis is 19 year old player and a member of the Young Men National Team. I don’t think how old he is but rather how much experience he has. He’s an important player for us, like everyone else. Everyone on the team should be ready to be a starter. I had told my players that they should be waiting for Galata to strike back. Jawai was a problem for us, they made some tough baskets, however we stack to the same defense. We wanted to show patience in our game and chose to let Jawai score than let their perimeter players get into rhythm. We spoke during the time outs and implemented what we said. We had good choices; we had fast-breaks and got some rebounds after free shots. These were the elements that gave us the victory.
BRYANT DUNSTON: “It was a good game for us against a very tough team that struck back in the third period and pressed us, but we managed to win the game through good defense. We are improving every day and I think that is evident in every game. We have to continue playing tough defense and continue hard practice and improve producing even more energy. It’s not time for celebrating”.
ERWIN DUDLEY: “It was a very hard game for us. Olympiacos is a good team and we put ourselves in a very tough spot in the first half. We got better in the second half and even managed to take the lead, but some mistakes towards the end cost us. Just like our coach said, we were only a few mistakes away from victory. We have to learn through these mistakes. They are the Champions of Europe while for us it was only our second Euroleague game this year. We lost the game, but we have to learn from that, take everything positive and put it to use in the future”.