A win at "Nick Galis Hall"
Neither absences nor fatigue can 'bend' Olympiacos! The 'reds' beat Aris at "NIck Galis Hall" 80-55 and continued its winning streak in both Greece and Europe.
The hosts took a 5-0 lead in the beginning, however, our team was not late to respond. Using defense as a weapon and with a 7-0 streak, led 7-5, while later on succeeded in advancing the distance (14-22 at 10'). Olympiacos beat Aris' zone defense with threes and from inside the paint (22-43 at 19'). At the same time, the Giannakis' players were struggling to reach the basket (24-45 at 20')….
In the second half, the two teams took up an unofficial three point shooting contest, with the 'reds' winning it (from the 5 back to back that went in, Olympiacos got 3)! Poor offensive choices and some gaps in the defense, allowed Aris to close in at 13p. (45-58 at 29'), however, Agravanis and Milutinov took over the offense, that closed the 3rd quarter leading 62-45. The hosts tried one more time to come back (49-62 at 33') but it led them nowhere… Effective defense and a partial 18-6 for Olympiacos gave them a comfortable victory.
* Vasilis Spanoulis, Vangelis Mantzaris and Kim Tillie did not play due to injuries.
The quarters: 14-22, 24-45, 45-62, 55-80
Aris (Giannakis): Flionis, Τsairelis 11(1), Αthinaiou 6(1), Weaver 4, Benson 5, Vaughn 4, Poulianitis 2, Μourtos, Morant, Vasilopoulos 8(1), Petway 6, Bell 9(1).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Μilutinov 10 (3reb., 2 as.), Papanikolaou 6( 3reb., 5 as., 2 st.) Roberts 6(2), Τhompson 6(1), Printezis 6(4reb.), ΜcLean 7(1), Τoliopoulos 7 (2 3p., 2as.) Papapetrou 11(3 3p., 3 reb.), Αgravanis 12(1 3p., 8 reb., 3 bl.), Strelnieks 5(1 3p., 4as.), Αrsenopoulos, Bogris 4.
"Concentration, defense and co-operations were the key"
Giannis Sfairopoulos seemed to be content from his team's overall outlook. "We played a very good game. I think that from the beginning we were very focused, we implemented our plan completely. We were very good in defense. We did not allow Aris to run in their home court which is very important for a transition game. We have had good co-operations in offense and especially in the second quarter. We forced the opponent to only score ten points. We had good movement of the ball, we made some shots, both from inside the paint and on open court. And the twenty point difference we built was a really important head start. It's very characteristic of our style of playing that while we got to score 45 points in the first half, no player of ours had scored double digits. This shows pluralism as a team. We expected Aris to react in the second half, they did and closed in. It's certain that we began the second half kind of lazy, we lost some defensive match ups, we did not move the ball well in the offense, however, we got into rhythm once again, played better defense, stopped some easy baskets that we were receiving and built us a difference again into the fourth quarter. Based on the game outlook, we deserved to win because we were very focused and in general we got to control the tempo throughout the game, apart from some parts of it that I talked about. Good luck to Aris and the best to coach Giannakis".
And he went on to say: "It was a quality game, a quality first half, when we read the offensive game well as well as the defense. We recognized the miss matches, we were focused, did not allow Aris much room, played right in regard to the player we were guarding and it was for sure one of our best games".
Asked how he explains the high percentage for the 'reds' from the three point line, despite the absence of two guards and low percentages in the European games, he replied: "It's a matter of quality. Neither is 28% in threes normal, nor 50% is. The normal number would be somewhere in between. But there are days when you have good percentages. I think we have good shooters and it's a matter of time before they find rhythm and get to score better. Indeed, our percentages hadn't been good and this 50% is huge. It happens though, just like the opposite can happen".
On his part, Aris' coach, Panagiotis Giannakis, stated: "Olympiacos had a very good night, contrary to us that became nervous after missing some easy shots. Olympiacos has had a steady percentage at threes and this helped them remain consistent. We were very bad in the second quarter, were better in the third… We are not a team that has had the same amount of time to work compared to Olympiacos that has quality players and guys that have been playing together for years. This was not our real face and that resulted in Olympiacos getting an easy victory. We need to focus on the next game against Bonn which is very important".
Vasilis Toliopoulos: "The good job in the second quarter decided the game. We were very good in defense and I think that we did not receive more than ten points. In regard to myself, I have to say it's an honor to be playing for this team. I want to be the more focused I can be each time, to have defense as my starting point and if offense comes too, then all the better". Talking about the game against the Blaugrana, but also about the semi final against Aris, he said: "The game against Barcelona is a different game to tonight. We want to continue our winning streak with the Euroleague and qualify for the Cup final, which we've been missing a lot in the last couple of years".