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bwin FMS Τράπεζα Πειραιώς

Written on . Posted in Games.

'Thrylos' bent during overtime

Olympiacos did not make it against Laboral Kutxa in Vitoria. The Greek Champions lost 96-89 and this was their first defeat for this season's competition.

'Thrylos' defense was not good in the first quarter. Hence the hosts succeeded in leading 21-18. In the second quarter, the Basques continued shooting frustratingly on target behind the 6.75 arc and half time was 48-39 in their favor. The home team had control of the game til 27', but in the last three minutes of the third quarter, with Matt Lojeski leading the counter attack, Olympiacos returned to the game.

The Greek Champions closed in at 6 points and then came even closer. With five consecutive points scored by captain Vassilis Spanoulis, Thrylos was for the first time in the lead 71-72. However, Laboral Kutxa was on top once again with Mantzaris and Lojeski keeping Olympiacos in the game. The regulation ended with a tied score 80-80 with a three by James from behind the jump ball correctly not counting since it had not beat the buzzer.

Olympiacos did not succeed in leaving with a victory during the extra time. The home team continued scoring threes and eventually won 96-89.

The quarters: 21-18, 48-39, 69-63, 80-80, 96-89.
Laboral Kutxa (Perasovic): James 13 (3), Causeur 9 (1), Planinic 4, Hanga 17 (2), Bourousis 28 (2), Blazic3 (1), Diop 2, Tillie 4, Kangur 5 (1), Adams 8 (2), Corbacho 3 (1).
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Young 5 (3reb, 3st), Hunter 7 (6reb), Papapetrou, Spanoulis 11 (9as), Strawberry 7 (1reb, 1st, 1as), Milutinov 2 (2reb), Printezis 11 (8reb), Agravanis, Hackett 5 (1), Lojeski 28 (6), Athinaiou.

GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "It was more of an offensive than defensive oriented game, we did not play defense the way we wanted to. This was the problem for us tonight. Especially during the first quarter, we received 48 points, many of which very easily, we should not be receiving such points, especially during an away game. We improved our defense in the second half, even led in the last minute, but Laboral Kutxa made some critical shots and the game was at overtime. They tried more during that period, we made some mistakes. Congratulations to Laboral. For sure this defeat hurts us, we lost a battle and we need to improve on our game".