Olympiacos goes to the final!
Olympiacos beat Aris 56-49 and got the ticket to the Greek Cup Final that will be held on February 17, 2018 at the "Two Aorakia" gym (Heraklion-Crete). AEK is going to be the opponent in the battle for the first title of the year.
The Giannis Sfairopoulos team did a great job in defense in the first quarter and the only 8 points scored by the hosts at that time is proof enough. However, the 'reds' weren't as consistent in the offense… Due to the bad shooting percentages from the perimeter, the 'reds' were originally trailing 0-4. When the passed the ball in the post they got to impose the tempo and built an 8 points difference (16-8 at 11'). However, they weren't able to completely control the game. Bad choice in the offense allowed Aris to strike back and have a 3 p. game (22-25). Finally, a three by Dimitris Agravanis allowed Olympiacos to close the first half leading 28-22.
Our team succeeded in stopping Aris from scoring for about 7 minutes, but due to difficulty in scoring, wasn't able to significantly widen the margin (9p., 31-22 at 27'). And got to pay for it… Aris "struck" from the perimeter and with a partial 18-7 got to lead 40-38 at 33'. Finally, the solution came from the perimeter! Janis Strelnieks (mainly), Brian Roberts and Vangelis Mantzaris… ignored the terrible percentages of their team from the 6.75 m. line, opened fire and regained control (53-44 at 38'). In the last couple of minutes our team's defense was enough to give the win and the qualification.
The quarters: 8-14, 22-28, 32-37, 49-56
Aris (Giannakis): Flionis, Vasilopoulos 4, Weaver 4, Benson 9, Bell 6(1), Vaughn 15(2), Τsairelis 3, Mourtos, Αthinaiou 6(1), Petway 5(1).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Printezis 3, Roberts 6(1 3p., 3 as.), Thompson 7(1), Μilutinov 18(11reb.), Papanikolaou 1(7reb.), McLean 6(5reb.), Papapetrou 2, Αgravanis 4(1 3p., 7reb.), Strelnieks 11(3), Μantzaris 9(1 3p., 5 reb.).
"The team won..."
Defense and team game were the elements that gave Olympiacos the qualification according to Giannis Sfairopoulos: "We played them twice in eight days. We knew it was going to be a difficult mission, because the outlook of the first game was not representing reality. We began the game quite focused. I think we won the game thanks to our defense. We succeeded in keeping Aris at very low scoring, at 49 points. It wasn't a quality game, due to its significance and due to the huge battles that took place. Aris put up a huge fight. They fought different to the previous game and that's why we scored less. They stopped our productivity. Despite that, we had a clear head and when they took the lead, we made some big shots that we hadn't made up to that point, found rhythm from the perimeter for 2-3 minutes and got a difference that gave us the victory. Congratulations to Aris for the effort. It's still too early to be thinking about the final. We are only thinking about the next game".
On whether the return of Vasilis Spanoulis will offer more offensive solutions for the 'reds' he said: "We are still searching to establish our game. We are a new team. Six of our players are new to the team. We have to learn one another. We have to learn to win tough games, because you can also learn to do that. When you win games like that, you gain experience, you gain points as a team. I have said many times that we can play better. The more time passes, the more we get to train all together, because up to now we haven't been able to do that, we'll be getting better and will be playing much better".
"I wasn't the only one to make important shots".
Janis Strelnieks took Olympiacos out of a tough spot with his threes, all the more at a very decisive point in the game. However, he denied accepting the accolades, stressing that the result was one of team work and team defense…
"We knew it was going to be a totally different game compared to the one for the League. It was a semi final, a knock out game, so we knew that they were going to try and change things, because they hadn't played well in our first match up. We were ready to fight and managed to keep them at 49 points. This proves we did an amazing job in defense, but we need to improve how we attack. It's the second game in a row that we don't score enough. It's only certain that we need to score more".
When he was asked to comment on his shots, he stressed that … "I would say that defense was the key. Yes, we made some important threes, not only I, but also Roberts and Mantzaris. However, we play as a team and this is more important. When someone gets to score, we get to support one another, so it's not important who scores. The most important thing is to remain a team when in defense".
Finally, when asked about AEK, the opponent they will be facing in the final, the Latvian guard replied: "I don't know a lot about AEK, because I have never played against them. I imagine we will play them for the League before the final. For sure it's going to be difficult game, it's a final and anything can happen in one game. Also, we will be playing in Crete, it's not the home of either team, so it's going to be difficult, but we are going to be ready for it".
"We should look forward"
Qualification to the final is a result that everyone fought for with all they had, but it's something they need to immediately leave behind, since the final against AEK is still far away. That's what Kostas Papanikolaou stressed talking about the game: "We succeeded to qualify to one more final after a long time. It's a very important result for us, but it ends here. We are moving forward. It's another game that got to win, despite being very difficult and that's what counts". And the international forward went on to say: "It's still too early to talk about the final. We have a long time till February. It can wait. We have more important games ahead. We need to focus, play good basketball and look forward".