Unstoppable!
The Greek Champions are on a streak and no one is able to stop them either in Greece or Europoe. Their “victim” this time was Laboral Kutxa, with the Piraeus team winning in Vitoria 82-76 for the second leg of the Euroleague TOP-16.
In one of the “hottest” courts in Europe, Olympiacos had not difficulty with the game and was leading from the beginning of the game, never looking back. Following the initial 7-2 of the hosts, Thrylos took lead of the score and the difference was even up to 16 points. At the end, the home team tried for the upset, but Hunter and Spanoulis immediately stopped any thought of comeback for them.
THE DEFENSE: Once again Thrylos succeeded in imposing its rule through its defense. They kept one of the most prolific European teams at 56 points for 30 minutes and succeeded in taking out of the rhythm of the game the top scorers of the Perasovic’ team.
THE OFFENSE: It doesn’t matter that Matt Lojeski stays at the … pits. Giannis Sfairopoulos got the maximum out of each one of his players and hence Olympiacos scored 82 points. With an incredible free throws percentage (22/24 – 91%).
THE MVP: Othello Hunter. The American center was great on both ends of the court winning most of the battles against Bourousis and Planinic. He finished the game with 17 points and 3 rebounds.
KEEPING, FORGETTING: Keeps the first victory on the road. Each victory away from SEF for the TOP-16 is extremely important and Thrylos has already the first one in its first outing from home court and all the more, in a court that many teams are bound to fail. Forgets the mediocre last minutes in the game, when Laboral managed to close in from -16.
THE POINTS
The quarters: 18-24, 34-43, 56-62, 76-82
Laboral Kutxa (Perasovic): James 16 (1), Causeur 7 (1), Planinic 4, Sengelia 7, Hanga 7 (1), Bourousis 12, Blazic 7, Diop Il4, Tillie 7, Adams 5 (1), Corbacho
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Johnson-Odom (1reb.), James 7(2/3 2p., 1reb.), Hunter 17 (3reb.), Papapetrou 1 (1as.), Spanoulis 19 (2/3 2p., 3/9 3p., 1reb.), Strawberry, Milutinov, Printezis 15 (6/9 2p., 2reb.), Agravanis 5 (1/4 3p.), Mantzaris 14 (1/3 2p., ¾ 3p.), Hackett 4 (2/3 2p., 3reb.), Αthinaiou.
THE QUOTES
VELIMIR PERASOVIC: «We could not play our game and Olympiacos deserved to win. The difference was only normal. Today we were playing against a top level team and we need to admit that. They used 12 very physically strong players and we did not have an answer to that. It’s not good to lose at home, but at that level, anything can happen. However, I believe we are also going to win on the road”.
MICHAEL JAMES: “Basically, Olympiacos played tougher than we did. They did a very good job, since they were attacking from the beginning and even when we got close, it was impossible to take the lead. They played tough for 40 minutes, we made stupid mistakes and weren’t focused in our game”.
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: “Laboral Kutxa is an excellent team and this was a very important victory for us since they play great at home. They are a team that brings tremendous energy in its home court and this victory was extremely important since it was on the road for a very tough group. Laboral has beat Real and Barca in this court and our mission was really tough.
We knew them and they knew us. We had played them here for the regular season and now were more focused, readier, especially in the critical points of the game. It was very important to begin the game so focused. We kept them at low scoring levels in the first quarter, controlled the tempo throughout the game and maintained the lead. We knew they were going to react in the second half. They closed in, but we kept the lead to the end of the third quarter and that was crucial. This is only one victory in a very long road ahead and we need to work even harder to improve elements in our game. I would like to wish good luck to Laboral Kutxa”.
OTHELLO HUNTER: “We controlled the game through our defense, the important element was that each one player gave all they had and won an important game”.