Olympiacos dominates the derby
Olympiacos absolutely dominated the derby for the second day of the Greek League against Panathinaikos Superfoods (88-63) and got its second victory for the season. Giorgos Printezis was the top scorer for the Greek Champions.
The game was ‘red’ from beginning to end. The Greek Champions completely dominated and showed from the beginning who was going to be the boss. The Piraeus team was feeding Printezis throughout the first quarter and the Greek forward was doing an amazing job. The same with Papanikolaou who played some great defense while Vassilis Spanoulis was passing assists to make the score 23-17. However, the foot never left the gas, so the entrance of Young and Hackett offered an extra boost. Whoever was coming into the game played even better than before. And hence 50-32. The outlook remained the same into the third quarter. Olympiacos was leveling the game, offering a substantial show. Lojeski and Green were ‘frining’ from every angle to make the score 68-49. In the last quarter, the team of Giannis Sfairopoulos continued in the same fashion. Lojeski and Printezis were unstoppable at scoring and the final 88-63 was a fact.
The quarters: 23-17, 50-32, 68-49, 88-63
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Birch 9, Spanoulis 2 (7 as.), Printezis 18, Papanikolaou 4, Mantzaris 3 (1), Green 14 (2), Young 4, Papapetrou 7 (1), Milutinov 3, Hackett 9 (1), Lojeski 15 (3 3p., 9 reb.).
Panathinaikos Superfoods (Pedoulakis): Singleton 10, Feldein 9 (2), Gist 10 (1), Charalampopoulos 2, Calathes 5 (1), Rivers 3, Fotsis 3 (1), Pappas 9 (1), Bourousis 12.
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: “We dedicate this victory to Giorgos Angelopoulos. It was an important game for us, early in the season. It’s very important that we showed a lot of energy, focus and determination, while our players showed what needs to be done on the court. We had passion and determinations, which shows in the 20 offensive rebounds we got. I would like to congratulate all my players. They played a good game, the team has a lot of room for improvement, they can function better when automated reactions are established in both offense and defense. Everyone needs to engulf our philosophy and find competitive rhythm, which still is not at the maximum. This game is a first sample of how we want to play and a proof that we have been working towards the right ends, in a very difficult season and a games marathon. Congratulations to our fans as well, that came here and supported us. We thank them. That’s how the atmosphere should be”, the coach of the champions commented.
About the contribution of players that did not score a lot: «This is what we want as a team. We all know that Spanoulis is the leader of the team. Tonight the opponent was adjusted on him, but he passed so many assists and helped with the organization. He showed why he is the leader of this team, because he puts the team above himself. Milutinov was a ‘mountain’ in the post, he covered every space and together with Birch and Young they played a very good game. It’s not important who scores the most points, it’s only important for the team to win. Papanikolaou was great as well. They all deserve to be congratulated. They all pushed the team. As a coach, I don’t care who scores. We dominated the game tonight”
About what was different in regard to game against ReaL: «We did not change much. Panathinaikos is a team that runs the floor, just like Real, if they get into rhythm, they can kill you. We were more focused and endured more in regard to the game in Madrid, where the score did not represent how we played. The score was up by 18 in the first half and stayed that way till the end. It’s not easy to last that long into the game so early in the season, but we were very focused».
ARGYRIS PEDOULAKIS: “We played a tragic game. I can understand a few things. We lost our play maker with two fouls early in the game and had to use Pappas there as well. We tried to post with Charalampopoulos, we had to wait forever… We did not and it was a circus. What I cannot understand are rebounds lost. This shows we are a very ‘soft’ team, shows lack of will and energy. We need to be tougher and ‘read’ the game. Olympiacos had the advantage to run and score easy baskets. If you want to win the Peace and Friendship Stadium you need to be tough and study the game. It’s only logical to not be ready for the second part, but it’s not logical to lose so many rebounds. We need to become tougher. To attack, you need to get the rebounds. The simple thing is the toughest” he stressed and added “be sure that when Panathinaikos reaches the point when games decide things, we will be tough. But these things are being built by experience, just like you build character”.
About the performance of Nick Calathes «We don’t have the luxury to have Nick in a bad day. The opponents chose this defense and we need another solution, but we didn’t since we were also missing Mike James».
Asked on whether it was a right choice to choose four Americans and be missing two foreigners in the first round, he said: «We had prepared the team with James. It’s like losing your care engine. We know how to run, set game takes time».
About the continuous Euroleague games: «DNA has to be transformed. We also had a first round derby in 2012. Only a few players have the Peace and Friendship Stadium experience. It’s only the regular season, it’s not the play-offs. Be sure that we are going to be tough in the play-offs, otherwise I will not be here. You learn by experience. Teams and character is built upon, you cannot buy them».