«Hot» in Kaunas!
Olympiacos was impressive in the snowy Kaunas, beat Zalgiris 88-75 and holds a 8-4 record following 12 days for the Euroleague RS.
The game did not start well for the Giannis Sfairopoulos' team in regard to defense, but the more time was passing, the 'reds' were improving their performance and hence finding rhythm in the offense as well. However, the hosts with back to back threes were leading 23-21 at the end of the first quarter.
The Piraeus team improved their defense in the second quarter and with Papanikolaou and Lojeski doing a great job, they got a 40-42 lead at the end of the first half.
Spanoulis, Green and Printezis were amazing for yet another game and thus maintained the difference throughout the third quarter which closed at 60-63. In the last quarter, the Greek Champions stepped on the gas pedal, Lojeski and Papanikolaou continued scoring and the difference was up to 10 points. A little before the end of the game Giorgos Printezis was injured and everyone 'froze' seeing the Greek forward on the floor. Finally, however, the Greek champs showed they are made of a very powerful metal and won 88-75.
THE POINTS
The quarters: 23-21, 40-42, 60-63, 75-88
Zalgiris Kaunas (Jasikevicius): Pangos 7 (1), Lekavicius 11, Westermann 7, Seibutis 5 (1), Motum 12 (2), Jankunas 18 (2), Javtokas, Milaknis 6 (2), Lima, Kavaliauskas 6, Ulanovas 3.
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Green 10 (2), Birch 13 (6reb), Young 2, Papapetrou, Spanoulis 10 (2 3p, 8as), Μilutinov 6, Printezis 15 (1 3p, 6reb), Papanikolaou 16 (2 3p, 5reb), Mantzaris, Lojeski 16 (1 3p, 8reb).
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "It was a close game, we were playing against an excellent team, with a lot of quality, which they showed in their last five games, winning three of them and barely losing in Moscow and Madrid. We knew it was going to be a tough game against a tough opponent. We were focused and followed our plan. We played a good game in general, played right, we did not allow easy points for Zalgiris and we were prolific in our offense, with six players scoring double digits. We 'read' the defensive weaknesses of Zalgiris and attacked them correctly. It was obvious that everything was going to be decided at the end. We only allowed them to score 15 points, we scored 46 in the second half, an excellent performance and we continue. It was a good victory, but we are only thinking about the next game. Good luck to Zalgiris with the Euroleague."
MILAN TOMIC: "We came here to play on the road against a great team. We had control of the game for 40 minutes, got 12 offensive boards, 6 points with double digits and showed we are a team where the players play for one another. We played some good defense in the last quarter when it counted; in the first three we mostly controlled the game through our offense. Our threes' quota was up in the second half and got the victory. Papanikolaou was very good in all our games, players are only human. He has been very good up to now and was brilliant tonight. It now remains to be seen if he continues the same way. Printezis has hurt his knee; we'll have to wait for the MRI. When you play basketball, you have to give 100%, we cannot duel on whether it was the ad on the floor to blame, that's life. It has ups and downs. He slipped. We try to control the players' bodies and energy. These things happen, injuries just happen and we need to overcome them and think positive".
KOSTAS PAPANIKOLAOU: "The important thing is the team won. It was definitely a good offensive game for me, but the thing is the team has to win. We got the victory and we move on. It was a team effort, I'm really happy; I thank everyone for the support. We dedicate this victory to Daniel, we play for him as well, we wish he comes back healthy and strong."