Showmanship, a record and +38…
Olympiacos was impressive against Kifisia, won 97-59 and remained atop the Basket League SKRATS standings after 23 games. The Greek champions did not concede a point in the third quarter.
With the Piraeus team being incredible in the second half, "Thrilos"…partied against Kifisia and won 97-59 setting an amazing record.
THE DEFENSE: In the first half Olympiacos' defense was not good. In the second, however, the team proved why they boast the best defense in Europe. Giannis Sfairopoulos players didn't concede a single point (!!!) in the third quarter, while allowing a total of 21 in the second half.
THE OFFENSE: Three below a hundred for "Thrilos". Giannis Sfairopoulos players weren't only impressive on defense, but on offense too. All 12 players played and 11 scored with "Thrilos" getting rather close to 100 points for yet another time this season.
THE MVP: Ioannis Papapetrou. The 22 year old forward of the Greek champions dominated on both defense and offense, finishing the game with 20 points and four three pointers.
KEEPS, FORGETS: Forgets the first half defense, the time where the visitors scored 38 points. Definitely keeps the amazing defense of the second half and especially the third quarter when the team didn't allow a single point.
THE POINTS
Quarter: 28-21, 50-38, 71-38, 97-59
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Spanoulis 13 (2), Milutinov 2, Agravanis 7 (1), Mantzaris 8 (1), Papanikolaou 8 (1), Odom 4, Hunter 5, Papapetrou 20 (4), Strawberry 12 (1), Tsairelis, Warrick 6, Hackett 12 (2).
Kifisia (Papatheodorou): Chatzinikolas 3 (1), Popovic 2, Stamatis 2, Kaselakis 9 (1), Hogue 15, Marshall 3 (1), Stiggers 8 (1), Gikas, Chrisikopoulos 5 (1), El-Amin 2, Spiridonidis, Smith 10.
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: «It was a game where we were really serious and focused. We did exactly what we had to do. We started really well defensively and offensively. Especially in the first half we had production. It was generally a productive game. The most important thing is the defense that we want to play. Congratulations on the players for showing great will on defense and their concentration. We wanted to have a good game because difficult games await us in Euroleague. I was really satisfied. I thank the fans that were here and I believe that that team paid them back with a good showing on both defense and offense and a lot of highlights. I didn't understand the record. My staff mentioned that to me. At that point you don't look if you have conceded a point, but what you have to fix. I saw that we played good defense. The players' effort was great. We're not concerned about records. What we're concerned about is that the team follow its plan and plays better basketball on defense and on offense».
IOANNIS PAPAPETROU: «Firstly I want to congratulate Kifisia, they came here today to give their all. Regarding our team, we wanted to play good from the beginning. In the third quarter we didn't allow a single point and in the greater part of the game we gave everything we had. We found out that we hadn't allowed a point at the end of the quarter, but we had our mind on playing good defense. We weren't thinking about it».
ILIAS PAPATHEODOROU: «We managed to have a good flow on offense in the first half, but we didn't have answers for Olympicaos offense, resulting in our conceding a lot of points in that same half. Unfortunately, Olympiacos continued with the same pace in the third quarter, whereas we missed a lot of shots and they only thing we could do was to close out the game as well as we could. Congratulations to Olympiacos for the win. We have a crucial game on Saturday on our home court and we concentrate on that. The difference with such teams is huge in the league we take part in. Olympiacos was 100% ready tonight. Both because Euroleague is in a crucial point but also because we're always very competitive, like we were in the first round. I believe that what happened will make us stronger and we will be positively influenced by the margin of defeat».
DUSTIN HOGUE: «We played well in the first half. We started aggressively and we managed to be aggressive. We went to the locker room having confidence, we were down 12, but in the third half we didn't come in well, they managed to completely dominate, we didn't score at all in the third quarter, thus entering a hole and never managing to get out of it».