Lost the first game
Olympiacos lost to Panathinaikos 81-83 for the first final of the Basket League SKRATS play-offs. The second game will take place at OAKA on Sunday (22/05).
The 'reds' did not start the game well, especially defense wise and thus they found themselves trailing from the beginning. The Piraeus team, with Printezis, Lojeski and Spanoulis leading the way, turned the situation in their favor and closed in. They even took the lead in the third quarter, but they could not find answers to the many threes by Panathinaikos and lost the game 81-83.
THE DEFENSE: It never once reminded of the defense the Piraeus players were playing throughout the year and was among the best in Europe. The 'reds' received more than 40 points in the first half and more than 80 in the whole game.
THE OFFENSE: The offense wasn't working properly in the first 15 minutes of the game. The 'reds' seemed stressed and were targeting the …rim many times. However, after the first 15', the offensive game of the team changed, they scored 81 points that nevertheless, were not enough.
THE MVP: Giorgos Printezis. The Greek forward, who lost his father Thursday morning, played an amazing game, but wasn't able to lead his team to the victory.
KEEPS, FORGETS: Keeps the fact that nothing is over and the series has still a long way to go. Forgets 0-1 and now focuses on the OAKA game.
THE POINTS
The quarters: 15-24, 41-47, 62-61, 81-83
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Hunter 6, Spanoulis 15 (2), Printezis 17 (1), Mantzaris, Papanikolaou 4, Papapetrou 9 (2), Strawberry, Μilutinov 3, Αgravanis, Warrick, Hackett 6, Lojeski 21 (3).
Panathinaikos (Pedoulakis): Charalampopoulos 4, Fotsis 13 (3), Radulica 4, Feldein 15 (4), Calathes 16 (2 3p., 8as., 8reb.), Pappas 10 (1), Diamantidis 4 (1), Gist 11, Williams 1, Hunter 5, Haynes.
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: «I think we began the game very sluggish, while Panathinaikos was really determined. We did not find rhythm. They scored easy baskets, built a difference that even reached +12 and our defense wasn't working properly at the time, while in offense, we were stressed, we were late with our execution and could not shoot on target. Panathinaikos had good rhythm and finished first half having scored 47 points. We reacted in the second half, took the lead, even made 62-58, we only received 14 points in the third quarter and played good defense while we also ran the fast break. We missed some open shots at the end, Panathinaikos made theirs. Congratulations to Panathinaikos. It is a series of games, we definitely have a tougher job to do now, but we want to return. We will try to correct the mistakes that cost us the victory".
At the same time, he addressed the touching performance of Giorgos Printezis: "I would like to offer my condolences to Giorgos Printezis on his loss. Giorgos showed a huge heart by being available for the team, participating since morning".
ΙOANNIS PAPAPETROU: «Congratulations to Panathinaikos on winning. They have the lead, but the series ends with three victories. The series will be decided by details. We made some mistakes and payed for them. We now need a break and focus on game two».
ΑRGYRIS PEDOULAKIS: «It was a very strong and interesting game. We began very focused and strong, took the lead, controlled the game, gave problems to our opponent to solve with our defense, but we lost our rhythm due to rotation. Our 29 assists is an excellent number and show how we want to be playing. Charalampopoulos played such a game for the first time and was really focused. We simply won game 1. This will boost our confidence. We lead 1-0, but there is way to go. We have great respect for Olympiacos, they are a very strong team. It's a myth we can't go to high scoring. We have guards that can open up the game. Our problem is that our big players are not adequate enough to allow fouls. I think that Panathinaikos can go for high scoring. They are two different things. Basketball is heading to athleticism and the players that have slow legs play a lot less. As for Williams, Calathes and Feldein were having a very good day. He's been to Europe for a short time; it takes adjustment and focus on tactics. The way the game evolved tonight made us choose these line ups. We have too many guards. When you have 8 guards, not everyone can play. Panathinaikos played for a long time with the ball on the floor and it's still an element of its game at times. You need players that can move the ball and Diamantidis and Fotsis did an excellent job in that part. 29 assists is an excellent number. The most important thing in basketball is passing. What I keep is the spirit. Mistakes are going to be made. We have 4-5 guys that have played at such high level, but Olympiacos has more players that have experienced situations like that and have won titles. This is an advantage for Olympiacos to manage".
JAMES FELDEIN: «It was a great game. I know that every player wants to be playing games like that. We were better and played tougher from the start. From tomorrow on, we need to see what our mistakes were, because this was only one step and nothing more. It's very important to make the break. I was telling both myself and my team mates that we can and have to win this game. Tonight, we showed character and lots of heart».