Impressive!
Olympiacos was impressive against Fenerbahce, won 71-62 and ended the Euroleague RS first round with a 10-5 record.
The Greek Champions made an incredible beginning in the game. The 'reds' proved to have the best defense in Europe, stopped the Turkish team at only nine points in scoring and took an 18-9 lead. In the second quarter the tempo opened up, but only for the players of Giannis Sfairopoulos. Olympiacos found rhythm in offense and playing a dominating game was leading 40-21.
In the third quarter the outlook was exactly the same to the previous 20 minutes. The 'reds' were hardly receiving any points, they were pluralistic in their offense and the 58-40 of the third quarter was only natural. In the last ten minutes of the game fatigue from the great effort to compensate for the absence of Printezis, Agravanis and Hackett was obvious, but still, the Piraeus players were absolutely ready. They reacted properly to Fener's come back and won 71-62.
The quarters: 18-9, 40-21, 58-40, 71-62
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Green 11(3), Birch 10, Young 6, Papapetrou 12(2), Spanoulis 7, Papanikolaou 3(1), Mantzaris 8(2), Lojeski 14(2).
Fenerbahce (Οbradovic): Udo 3, Mahmutoglou, Antic 5 (1), Sloukas 10 (1), Arna, Nunnally 2, Vesely 22, Kalinic 1, Dixon 9 (2), Datome 10 (2).
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "We definitely deserved to win the way we played and being as determined. We forced a team of the quality Fener has to only score 21 points in 20 minutes and dictated the terms of the game dominating both ends of the floor till the end of the third quarter. Fener is a very good team and tried to react. They found ways to score contrary to what we did, but at the end playing a couple of good plays we managed to win with a quite a sufficient difference. Congratulations to all our players for the effort and their will to win. We saw a lot of player diving for a ball, challenge a board, winning all the small battles. We need to continue the same way staying humble in the second round that is going to be tougher. We wish to thank our fans for supporting us so much, the gym was packed for the first time this year and we want this to be the norm from now on, because we all win when the fans are active. I'd like to congratulate my associates and the staff for a great preparation of the game".
On the importance of the victory: "Every victory is important to me, because Euroleague is tough. I don't know if it’s the most important victory though. We need to fight in every game and show the same zeal. We gave it all and we need to continue this way".
On the pressure felt by the players of the opposing team: «They were aware of how we were going to play and they still did not succeed in reacting, which shows we did a good job ».
Assessing the first round: "I don't want to do that. You cannot be looking back or further ahead, you can only look at the next game. We need to study our mistakes and see where we stand after the last game. The important thing is to have all players back healthy. We need to rest for a few days, both physically and mentally. The guys have two days off, we need to incorporate Waters and see how our injured players are faring"
ZELJKO OBRADOVIC: "I would like to congratulate Olympiacos because they deserved to win. They made a great start, they were faster and built a wide margin in the first half. Seeing at the first half stats, apart from Vesely, everyone else was shooting terribly so the result was only natural. We tried to come back in the second half, Olympiacos was leading with 18 in the third quarter, but despite closing in we missed a great opportunity when Dixon missed an open shot and lot. The question is why we had to reach such a point in the game. You always have good and bad things to keep from a game, tonight the positive elements for us are very few. When you play this way, the blame is only for the coach. We need to think everything over. A 5 - 6 minute reaction is never enough. There are a lot of games ahead of us and we'll see how it goes".
If the fact that players that have had played in that gym did not meet expectations: "I had said a hundred times to team and one on one meetings with my players that Olympiacos was going to come aggressive into the game. You can ask them, but you all saw their reactions. There are players that show character even when they are losing and you have some that is impossible to change. So we need to think hard and make some decisions. Olympiacos played minus key players but found the way to fight. We did not fight; we played as if it was a scrimmage game. Olympiacos played as needed to win".
IOANNIS PAPAPETROU: "We all came in wanting to win. We all wanted to give something extra. We had to play an important game and got an important victory. That's how great teams are. Olympiacos always needs to win. We always have to play up to our standards."
On the absences in the "4" position: "We have a lot of guys that play more than one position. It's really important. Many of us can "sacrifice" to play one position. We covered for all the absences in that position".
On the last minutes of the game: "We did not do justice with ourselves at the end. But our opponents play basketball as well. We should not be greedy. One should appreciate winning. We deserved a wider margin. Maybe we got to slack off a little bit. We'll analyze this and figure it out. Each game is different. When the time comes, we'll approach the game against Panathinaikos with the same seriousness. It's important to be closing the first round ranking 2nd. We want to finish at the highest rank possible".
PATRIC YOUNG: "It's definitely a great victory. Each game is important this year, especially against such a good team. We put the foundations through our defense from the first minutes of the game. They are a very good team with a lot of talent and we knew they were going to fight to come back. We weren't surprised, but we managed to find a way and hung on to the victory. The coach is never satisfied. He always wants us to try harder. Momentum is important, but we need to bring energy on the floor and fight. We have to give all we've got and we are going to do so".
KHEM BIRCH: «We did not start the second half well. But we still got a great victory. It was a matter of determination. We wanted to play hard. Defense was the pivotal point».