First loss at home
Olympiacos lost for the first time this season in front of its fans. The Greek Champions lost 81-75 to CSKA Moscow and now hold a 3-2 record after five games for the Euroleague's Regular Season.
The game began with the Russian team shooting with very high percentages from behind the 6.75 m. arc. Hence the difference was up to 9, but Olympiacos made a quick come back to make the score 21-25 at 10'. However, in the second quarter, the Piraeus team made all the wrong decisions, were shooting very poorly, had no focus on their defense and half time found CSKA leading 28-44.
In the third quarter, Olympiacos under the leadership of Spanoulis, Birch and Printezis tried to come back to the game, but its time they seemed to get close, CSKA would find the answers to make the score 51-66. In the last quarter nevertheless, it was time for the 'reds' to really give it a go. Green entered the offensive equation, Papanikolaou also offered solutions and the difference was as small as four points, when a lost rebound and a shot hitting the rim did not allow for the huge upset to complete.
THE POINTS
Τhe quarters: 21-25, 28-44, 51-66, 75-81
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Green 8 (1), Birch 10, Young, Papapetrou 3 (1), Spanoulis 14 (5as., 7t.), Milutinov 3, Printezis 26 (7reb.), Papanikolaou 6 (8reb., 4as.), Μantzaris 3, Hackett 2, Lojeski.
CSKA Moscow (Ιtoudis): De Colo 23 (2 3p., 9reb.), Τeodosic 10 (2/10 3p., 5as.), Augustine 2, Fritzon, Jackson 15 (3/3 3p.), Αntonov 3 (1), Vorontchevic 11 (2), Higgins 2, Chryapa, Kurbanov 2, Heins 13.
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "Tonight we did not come out to play as we should have in view of a tough game. We lost a lot of personal battles, we lost the rebounds, we lost in defense and one on one. We were nervous when attacking, we did not perform up to our standards, we did not play as a team and this hurt our game, especially in the second quarter. We did not have solutions or confidence, we only scored 7 points and this played a major role in losing. We made a lot of turnovers and CSKA is a team that will punish you. They made some big shots, but the real culprit was that we received many 'cheap' shots and lost the rebounds. We were more aggressive in the second half, we tried a smaller line up to press, we had some chances, but we did not come through and CSKA got a fair victory. The good thing is that we managed to keep CSKA at low 2-pointer scoring percentages and away from their average. We keep going, it's a loss in a game marathon and we need to learn from our mistakes to be more ready in the future. My players were upset and I tried to calm them down. I don't want to comment on the refs. Whoever saw the game, can draw their own conclusions. If you play well, you can win despite the officiating. I don't care if the refs were good or bad. What I do care about is for my players to give it all when they play. It's not easy, because you play with 180 pulses, and when calls do you wrong you may get even more upset, but the players should not be affected by external factors. It was important that we did not quit, we played with passion. It's the fighting spirit we want to have at every game. We tried to the end, but we need to focus on the points when we weren't who we were supposed to be, especially in the second quarter. The passion we showed at the end should have been there from the beginning".
GIORGOS PRINTEZIS: "We tried a lot, but trying does not count, only victory does. We weren't who we should have been for the most part of the game. We did not play as we would have wanted and CSKA got a fair victory, since what we did at the end weren't enough. We missed a lot of challenged balls, we lost many rebounds and made a lot of turnovers. We are not only looking at the bad second quarter we have had, but at the game as a total. We need to see both the positive and negative aspects of this game. I don't want to talk about the refs, the important thing is to find what our mistakes were and fix them".
VANGELIS MANTZARIS: "It was obvious that we weren't ready, both physically and mentally/ CSKA seemed to want the game more than we did, with the exception of the last five minutes. They made some big shots that are good for the psychology, but we weren't who we should have been for most part of the game. We lost a lot of rebounds and made a lot of turnovers, and in return the opponent had the chance to get into rhythm. We should look into our mistakes in view of what comes next. The season is long and the schedule has back to back games".
DIMITRIS ITOUDIS: "I think that in general we were better on the floor. We were determined from the beginning, being fully aware of what we were going to come up against here. Olympiacos is a team with a very specific mind set about what they want to do on the floor. They have changed a few things this season, they run more, they are tougher at rebounding, they try not to make mistakes. We dominated all those areas and did not allow them to run the open court, we forced their best players into turnovers, like Vassilis Spanoulis, one of the best players out there. I think we dominated the first half. I told my players that Olympiacos was going to come back, they are a great team and they are built to make the Final Four, so we were expecting that. But we took care of the ball and everything we planned in the locker room were implemented on the court. We did not allow Olympiacos to run. Congratulations to all the players, they all contributed to the victory".