Beat both Baskonia and bad luck
Olympiacos began this season's Euroleague with a victory, beating Baskonia in Crete 75-64.
A little before the jump ball, coach Sfairopoulos, whose roster was already missing the injured Spanoulis and Roberts, saw one more of his players being knocked out. Kim Tillie felt soreness in the abductor muscle following a dunk during warm up and was left in the bench. Despite all of that, the 'reds' did what they had to do having the support of the Cretan fans all the way.
The Spanish team took a 6-2 lead at 4' and despite Milutinov's dominance under the basket, they kept leading till 7' (9-12). A pressing defense play, a free throw by Papanikolaou and six points in a row by Agravanis, had the game turn in favor of the 'reds' who closed the first quarter leading 16-12. However, they did not stop there… Having obvious superiority at rebounding, together with correct offensive choices created a partial 13-5 and the margin went to +12 (29-17 at 15'), while they were in control of the tempo up to the end of the first half (41-33).
The guests tried to come back and relying on their perimeter shooting closed in on 45-51. Olympiacos once again relying on its good defensive game, showed patience in the offence and regained a two digit margin (60-49 at 30'). At the beginning of the 4th quarter the Prigioni players made a six point game (54-60), but the 'reds' answered with a partial 10-0 streak and sent the difference to +16 (70-54 at 34'). The Spaniards nevertheless did not give up. The mostly hit from the 6.75 arc and closed in as far as 7 points (71-64 at 39').
The quarters: 16-12, 41-33, 60-49, 75-64.
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): ΜcLean 2, Τoliopoulos 3(1), Papapetrou 2, Αgravanis 13(1 3p., 5 reb.), Μilutinov 9, Strelnieks 8(2), Printezis 17, Papanikolaou 11(2 3p., 4 reb., 4 as., 2 st.), Μantzaris 2, Bogris, Τhompson 8.
Baskonia (Prigioni): Vildoza, Timma 3(1), Voigtmann 11, Huertas 10(1), Janning 5(1), Diop 7(1), Granger 12, Poirier 3, Shengelia 13, Delfino.
"We can do even better"
The Olympiacos coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, talked about the particulars of the game and the importance of victory. "It's a very important victory, because the first game is always tricky. It's always tougher for the home team. We have one more reason to talk about it, because we played in Crete. An despite the fact that the Olympiacos fans, all the Cretan fans and the whole island supported us, it's not our natural home. I'd like to congratulate and thank all the fans that came here and supported us and it's good to pay them back with winning".
He then went on to analyze the game, stressing that the key was that everyone remained loyal to the plan "We began a little nervous in first five minutes. We then brought the game where we wanted, controlled it and played good defense and good team offense. We gradually built a difference that went to double digits and controlled the game throughout the second half. Despite Baskonia tried to make a come back at the end, we did no face any problems. We stayed true to our defensive plan, we stayed together, we scored some easy points and went to organized attacks. I'd like to congratulate my players for the victory. Despite wining the game, we still have a long way to go and need to improve on our game. We played well, but I know we can play better, and this is something we all need to work on".
Bad luck was once again present. "Kim Tillie felt an abductor muscle pull during warm up and that's why I did not use him. He could not play", the Olympiacos coach said and went on "We made a great effort to beat a strong team, a full roster, thanks to our presidents that did all that was needed to bring the players that we were missing and fit very well with our core roster. The truth is they haven't still practiced all together. But this is no excuse. As long as I have been here, I have never looked for excuses in player absences. We played two finals last season without any foreign players, but I never got to say anything about it. In the first game of the Greek League we got to play in an empty court, without fans, and without two key guards, but I still said nothing. And I didn't because I believe in the team, I believe that all the players I have can help the team win and the most important things that each one of us knows that. Keep that in mind, because if they have this mentality, they are going to be able to help the team. A player can play five minutes in one game, ten in another, fifteen in another one… We saw Bogris coming in the last three minutes and grabbed two crucial offensive rebounds and helped the team. Each one has to help the team no matter how much they get to play and that's what we did very well tonight. All the guys played in good spirits, they gave their best and that's the most important thing. But as I said before, we have much room to improve, we are a new team. It's not easy. We have eight new players. The team needs time to get cohesive. We are still discovering each other's game. I can say that I'm still learning the new players, how they play, how they need to be getting the ball, give them the circumstances they need. Because it's different to watch a player on video to coaching him. The team needs time. We have been working despite the injuries and time is on our side, we'll be getting better through games and practices".
When he was asked about his expectations from the season, he said: "We are taking one step at a time. We are going game after game. I told the same in the locker rooms. It's only the first game, we have a marathon in front of us. We now have to play a Greek League game, we need to see the next one after this one's over and so on. We are not looking far ahead. We are only focusing on preparing each game, for the players to be ready and this is our only concern. Now, about what happens at the end, we'll see about that when time comes".
Asked about Vasilis Toliopoulos and his progress, he commented: "He's an athlete that I know since he was a kid. I believe in him, I know his potential. When he joined us, his body needed work. He had to build on his body and make it strong and explosive to deal with Euroleague standards. When you are a guard and you need to guard athletic bodies on the other side, you need to build your body. When you are 19, 20, 21 years old that's not easy, because you are still developing organically. He gradually got to work on his body, because tactical and basketball skills were already in his repertoire. He is now an athlete we can rely on. He needs to remain focused, to keep a low profile and continue as humble. You know how these ages are, if you think you have made it somehow, you get a nasty fall. He needs to continue working and whenever he gets the chance he needs to be giving his best, as he did tonight".
Printezis: "We have to always be good"
One of the game protagonists, Giorgos Printezis, said : "Tillie was our third injury and we learned about it during warm up. But this is one of the positive aspects of Olympiacos this season… We have a big roster. Agravanis came in tonight and he was ready, he played very well and we succeeded in lasting throughout the game despite very important absences. It's important that we played as a team and got an important victory. We paid a little more attention to defense, despite making some stupid mistakes in the start. We tried to control the rebounds, focus on key players of Baskonia and I think that we did it in general. We run and lasted much longer compared to the game against Panathinaikos, where during the last five minutes we weren't the ones we were supposed to be".
The international forward stressed that there is no margin for error in Europe… "The way the new format is, we have to be always good and win. We are definitely more experienced due to last season and we know that the important games in Greece are the end, but it's not the same with the Euroleague. Here you have to win throughout, you have no margin for error. I think that we now know better, we have been working better and it will take a little more maintenance to reach to the end".
Asked whether it was the front line that won the game, he replied: "Teams bring victories. I don't want to talk about front lines, perimeter players or whatever. Everybody did a great job, Kostas and Vangelis and Janis and Thompson. It depends on what each team allows you and where you need to target. Before the game, we had said we needed to run and make easy baskets and in general attack the post where we saw they had some weaknesses. We did that and gained tempo as a team through that".
As for the choice to play the game in Heraklion, he was totally for it… "It's certainly good to have the fans by your side. Empty seats are not nice to watch and it's not an image that either represents our team, nor the Euroleague in general. I think that empty seats are a penalty for the whole sport. So it was only right that we came to play in Heraklion, where a lot of people came to see us, a lot of people that don't get the chance to see us up close during the season and we came and got a lot of energy from the fans. We thank them for coming".
Strelnieks: "Defense was the key"
The proof for the Olympiacos quality according to Janis Strelnieks is that the team is not deterred by the many injuries. "This is what it is to be a good team. There are a lot of problems, we had the last minute one with Tillie adding to those of Spanoulis and Roberts. But this is what it is to be whole and full team. There are player that stepped up and took the shots to bring the victory to Olympiacos".
Asked about the key factor that decided the game, he answered without thinking: "Defense is the key. When you play good defense and you don't allow the good players to score, you get into rhythm. We had some miscommunication in defense at some points and allowed them to close in, but we focused and did our job".
Finally, he talked about the 'reds' sixth player: "It was a beautiful atmosphere. Everyone knows that Olympiacos has crazy fans (in a good sense) in the whole of Greece. It's always good to have support to playing in an empty gym. We tried to play good basketball and thank the fans that came".
Prigioni: "It was a tough loss"
The Baskonia coach, Pablo Prigioni, pointed out: "It was a tough loss for us. We did not start with enough concentration so as to impose the rhythm and control the game. Our second quarter was terrible, we missed so many offensive rebounds. Our defense was somewhat better in the second half, but still, we could not find rhythm in the offense. We tried, but we should have been more patient. It was a tough loss for us. We wanted to start the Euroleague with a good game, but we are in an ongoing process given that we have a lot of new players and we need to keep working".