One step from qualifying to the finals
Olympiacos beat Aris in Thessaloniki 84-77 for the second semi f
inal of the STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League play-offs and now leads the series 2-0. Kostas Papanikolaou was once again the top scorer for the team.
The 'reds' had an easy Saturday afternoon in Thessaloniki and are now one step away from qualifying for the League finals. Olympiacos needs one more win over Aris to seal qualification. The next game against the Thessaloniki team is Thursday, May 25, 18:00 CET).
The first quarter began with a very impressive start for our team. Kostas Papanikolaou was leading his team mates in scoring with continuous threes, the Greek Champions got the lead and since the 'reds' were shooting very well behind the 6.75 m. line the first quarter ended 14-24 with a three by Papanikolaou from the center of the floor and with a very uncomfortable angle for him.
However, percentages got worse into the second quarter, continuous mistakes brought on nervousness and the lack of concentration in defense allowed the Thessaloniki team to close in and have a two point game at the end of half time (41-43).
The hosts got an early lead into the third quarter with a three by Dragisevic (44-43) and it was then that the Piraeus team found the turning point. With a partial 2-19 streak and Spanoulis, Printezis and Papanikoloau being virtually unstoppable, the difference went up to +16 (46-62) within six minutes, a point where actually "order" was back in the game. Olympiacos maintained the lead without any problems throughout the third quarter and was leading by double digits at 30' (55-67). In the last quarter, Olympiacos slowed down, Giannis Sfairopoulos rested key players, tried different line ups and the game ended 77-84 for the Greek Champions.
THE POINTS
The quarters: 14-24, 41-43, 55-67,
Aris (Priftis): Scott 11 (1), Xanthopoulos 2, Tsairelis 8 (1), Cummings 16, Ζaras 10 (1), Christidis, Μourtos 7 (1), Symtsak, Jankovic 9, Dragisevic 14 (4).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Green 3 (1), Birch 11 (14reb), Young, Papapetrou, Spanoulis 19 (3 3p, 8as), Waters 9 (3), Αgravanis 5 (1 3p, 3reb), Milutinov, Printezis 10 (2 3p, 4reb), Papanikolaou 23 (5 3p, 7reb), Mantzaris 4 (1 3p).
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: «Today we knew that we were facing a different opponent than the one that played us at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. Aris is much better here. We started strong, imposed the rhythm, but, somewhere around there, we lost our concentration. We even witnessed getting the defensive board and giving the ball to the opponent. This is purely a matter of lack of concentration, we thought that the game would be over very easily, however, Aris reacted, closed in, and even took the lead in the beginning of the second half. I think we came back with a lot of focus after the half time break, we made a good start, got to lead by double digits, got our widest difference at 35', but we once again loosened up at the that point, allowed them 14 offensive rebounds and that can only mean lack of concentration on our part. We are holding on to the fact that we lead the series 2-0 and we are now focusing on the Fianl Four and the semi final against CSKA Moscow" the Greek coach said at first. «When you go to play a Final Four, concentration needs to be better than today's. You need to be mentally stronger for a Final Four, because some of our players were not up to par on the mental front tonight. We need to see some good defensive plays and move the ball well. Final Four games are totally different ones and the pressure in a Final Four is totally different as well».
KOSTAS PAPANIKOLAOU: «It was a lucky three, one of the shots that are great should they get in, but nobody also is going to blame you for missing the shot. A lucky shot, it went in, great…»
Then, the Greek forward talked about the second semi final saying that «it's certain that it's not an easy task to be playing here. The gym itself puts pressure on you and in combination with the fans, that pressure only mounts. Aris deserves to be in the semi finals, the games have been good in view of the Final Four. There are always elements to either keep or let go following any game».
KHEM BIRCH: «I think that we allowed the opponent to score a lot of points in the first half. They score 42 points. However, our performance in the third quarter helped us win. We did not play that well in the fourth quarter either, but the third quarter was enough to grand us the victory».
Asked on what we should expect to be seeing from the team in view of the Final Four, the Canadian center replied that «at this moment we are focusing on the Final Four. This is a totally different story. Tonight we wanted to secure qualification by winning. I think that tonight's game is totally different to what is coming».