Olympiacos alone and undefeated at the top!
Olympiacos beat Kymi as well (90-72) and completed the first round of the STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League at the top and undefeated. Matt Lojeski was the top scorer for the 'reds' with 17 points.
The 'reds' made an impressive beginning in the game leading 0-8. A partial 13-3 by the hosts, however, changed the outlook of the game to make the score 13-11. The players of Giannis Sfairopoulos did not show concentration in their defense, Morgan was doing them a lot of damage and hence the first quarter ended with the Greek Champions leading only by one (23-24).
The offense was excellent in the second quarter too, but defensive mistakes and lack of focus once again took a tool and the hosts succeeded in keeping up with the score for half-time to end 45-46. However, the outlook was completely different in the second half, mainly defense wise. Olympiacos improved on their defense and led 59-63. In the last quarter, the Kymi players weren't able to even take a shot, the difference was close to 20 and Olympiacos won 72-90.
THE POINTS
The quarters: 23-24, 45-46, 59-63, 72-90.
Kymi (Bratsiakos): Schizas 2, Adekboye 8, Sigkounas, Tsoupkovic 12 (3), Koukoulas 4, Kostov 4, Stamatis 3, Pahlmblad, Morgan 29 (13 reb.), Εl-Amin 10 (2).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Waters 5 (1), Green 11 (3), Birch 4 (5 reb.), Young 5 (4 reb.), Papapetrou 7, Milutinov 1, Printezis 16 (1), Papanikolaou 1, Mantzaris 15 (3), Lojeski 17 (5), Athinaiou 8 (1).
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "I agree that we did not begin the game well, especially in regard to our defense. Our offense was good throughout, however, we lacked concentration in defense, Kymi is a good offensive team, they have experienced foreign players and very good scorers that if you give them space can harm you. And this is what happened. We received only 13 and 14 points in the third and fourth quarter respectively. We found rhythm especially in the last quarter. Congratulations to Kymi for their performance, the atmosphere in the gym, it's a gym where fans enjoy watching basketball and help the game take place under the right conditions. Also, I want to congratulate HEBA for their "Love Baskets" initiative. Basketball proves to be attuned to society's needs".
VANGELIS MANTZARIS: "Different faces, especially in defense. When you receive 45 points something is to blame, you are not doing something right. We said in the locker rooms that we cannot continue this way in the second half and we delivered on the floor".
GIANNIS ATHINAIOU: "The truth is we made a very bad start with our defense. We weren't focused in the beginning and allowed one player to start very well, one of Kymis major forces. We wanted to show concentration at first, since we knew that Kymi always makes a good start when playing at home. They are a very good team with a good roster and a good coach. We improved on our defense in the second half and approached required standards without totally following our plan though, but eventually got the victory".
*Nikola Milutinov will undergo an MRI Tuesday morning. He suffers from a foot contusion.