A gutsy victory for 'Thrylos'
What if Olympiacos could not come up with a roster of 12 against Laboral Kutxa, that did not stop the team from edging the Basques 59-52.
The Greek Champs played an amazing defensive game in the first quarter succeeding in containing Laboral Kutxa of an 88 point scoring average to 6 (!) in a whole quarter and thus led 12-6.
Offense got better in the second quarter, defense remained strong and hence the players of Giannis Sfairopoulos took a 14 point lead (36-22) at half-time.
In the third quarter, the guests closed in 46-39, but the 'reds' were clearly in control of the game. In the last quarter, Laboral Kutxa run a partial 3-8 and had a two point game (49-47), but at that point, the Piraeus players showed character, and by playing great defense once again did not allow the Basques to score for four minutes, reaching the final 59-52 victory.
Τhe quarters: 12-6, 36-22, 46-39, 59-52
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Hunter 8 (10 reb.), Papapetrou 6, Spanoulis 10, Strawberry 6, Hackett 6, Athinaiou 6 (1), Agravanis 6, Tsairelis 2, Mantzaris 9 (2).
Laboral Kutxa (Perasovic): James, Causeur 2, Planinic, Shengelia, Hanga 6, Bourousis 16, Blazic 11 (1), Diop 1, Tillie, Adams 11 (1), Corbacho 5 (1).
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "it's a gutsy victory for the team. Two factors weighed in. The first one is the team spirit on both ends of the floor and the second is the selflessness of the players. I want to sincerely congratulate them. We were playing against a team that wanted to challenge the top seed of the group. You know with how many absences we had to deal. We controlled the game throughout. We forced a major offensive team to only score 52 points, when they average 84 on the road. Our defense was extraordinary. It gave us the game. It's a great victory considering the problems and the losses we have suffered".
"What we need is to keep a low profile, rest the players that have given a tremendous effort and see when the recovering players are going to be ready. Congratulations to our players for trying so hard and being so selfless. I would like to thank the fans that came to see us. It wasn't a good game quality wise, but the fans saw the players give their all, fight to the end. We thank the fans and we want them by our side".
On whether his team played its best defensive game since he joined Olympiacos: "I think yes considering our rotation. It was a very small one. The players did a great effort against a team that plays with a lot of energy. Our defense was of very high level".
VANGELIS MANTZARIS: "Once again, our defense was the key to the victory. Laboral Kutxa came here having averaged 88,6 points, but we forced them to only score 52, which is a great achievement. We only allowed them 22 points in the first half, but the came back, making a two point game. We weren't as effective in offense, but we succeeded in tying the difference we lost with in Vitoria, that is seven points. It may not cost us at the end, but I would like to apologize for the last shot that I took and missed".
VELIMIR PERASOVIC: "I think that we made 11 turnovers at the beginning of the game. This was the key, since no matter what we did afterwards, there was a problem. We played better defense in the second half. We had the chance to take the lead, but at some point we did nothing right. You cannot beat Olympiacos on the road when you shoot so badly. We played a terrible offensive game and Olympiacos got a fair victory".