Reversal and win by the hand of Manztaris
If Olympiacos does not say his final word, no match can be deemed as over. With a three-pointer by Vangelis Mantzaris at the end the Back2Back European Champions won 79-77.
The ‘reds’ although did not play well bested Zielona Gora 79-77 and completed the first round of the Euroleague Regular season with a 5-0 record and hence continue undefeated both in out of the Greek borders.
The Polish team took advantage of the lack of concentration displayed by the ‘reds’ in the first quarter and took the lead with the quarter ending 11-22. Printezis and Lojeski took the matter into their hands into the second quarter and the reds closed in 29-33, but the Polish continued being extremely well shots and thus half-time ended 33-42 in their favor.
The game did not change into the third quarter either. The Polish team began exploiting on the Piraeus team bad defensive attitude and maintained the lead until the end of the third quarter 55-63. But at the end it was a given that our team would come back. And that’s what happened. Spanoulis and Printezis led the score to 70-71 from 64-69 1:17’ before the end. Eyenga made 70-72 scoring one of two free throws, but the captain of Olympiacos, Vassilis Spanoulis, scored a three to make the score 73-72 only 42’’ to the end. Vangelis Mantzaris missed one free throw to make 74-72, but Cel scored a three and gave Zielona back the lead with 74-75. Spanoulis made 76-75 with a lay-up and Eyenga scored one of his own to make 76-77. However, with only one second to go, Mantzaris scored a three and gave our team the victory (79-77).
Τhe quarters: 11-22, 33-42, 55-63, 79-77.
Οlympiacos (Bartzokas): Petway 2, Law 6, Dunston 6, Spanoulis 18 (2 3p, 9as), Perperoglou 5 (1), Papapetrou, Begic 2, Printezis 21 (2 3p, 7 reb), Agravanis, Mantzaris 6 (1), Katsivelis, Lojeski 13 (3).
Ζielona Gora (Uvalin): Cel 15 (3), Walker 8, Barlow, Chanas 5, Hrycaniuk, Eyenga 13, Dragisevic 18 (12 reb), Brackins 7, Sroka 3 (1), Koszarek 8.
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “You all saw a game with incredible score changes and very intense emotions. A game quite stressful for the protagonists, but very nice for the audiences. I think there are both positive and negative elements in the game. The positive thing is that we fought to the end. Persistence and patience gave us the victory. Among the negative ones is the way we approached the game defense wise in the first half. I think it’s disrespectful to be upset when you have won. You never underestimate victory. We completed the first round with a 5-0 record, so we can be kind of more relaxed. But, I have to repeat, there are no easy games. We have said again and again that our opponents have extra motivation. Congratulations to my players and the fans for the support. We were hasty in the game, we wanted to get the victory in haste, we shot without rhythm. We did not underestimate Zielona, they are the champions of their country and this means they have identity and character. They have quality players. They were patient, they played well and one can say that they lost the game to chance. I think that all successful teams can win some games easily and they can come back in other games.
Our young players have shown character. We cannot continue to the end without a defeat. It’s like we are tired of winning, I mean we are used to it and when we find obstacles we seem surprised. By now we have played 14f official games together with the Intercontinental cup ones and another 10-11 friendly games and we haven’t lost yet. I try to convince my players that there are no easy games. Coming back for a second time like we did in the game against PAOK is something we need to address very seriously. Underestimating is a term that is actually insulting to the opponent. We need to respect any opponent, both in Greece and in Europe”.
MATT LOJESKI: “We weren’t ready. No team is ready at this point. Zielona came here having nothing to lose and played its game. I don’t know if we get relaxed when we play in our home court, but this needs to be changed. We cannot be trailing throughout the game. We have to work and try to change this next time. I think that a 5-0 record is enough to get us qualified, but we need to be better and take it step by step”.
VANGELIS MANTZARIS: “You don’t have time to think, there was only one second left. I took the shot and it went in. But we played bad, we received close to 80 points. It’s always something and we start kind of loosely and then we run to catch up. We will not make it again at some point. We have to improve on that.”
MIHAILO UVALIN: “I think it was an exciting game. It hurt to lose it that way. I’m proud for my players for fighting throughout the game. Basketball is a fair sport and the best team always wins at the end. Congratulations to Olympiacos. I think Olympiacos underestimated us, they weren’t ready for the game and I’m not happy that we did not punish them for that. We fight to win everyone’s respect. Many describe us as a bad team, but I hope the team fans and the fans of the sport have been changing their view of our team. Olympiacos is one of the most important Euroleague teams this season as well. Tonight they underestimated us and this is their problem, if they maintain this approach to the games they are not going very far. Real Madrid is also playing very well, as well as Fenerbahce/Ulker”.
Highlights... Photo Gallely... {myFlickr}feed=photoset, photoset_id=72157637707758374, layout=table, columns=3, style=css6, gallery=lightbox{/myFlickr}