First European loss at the SEF
Olympiacos wasn't able to remain undefeated at home for the Euroleague. They lost at the SEF to Panathinaikos 62-70, for the 6th day of the competition.
Bad offensive choices and gaps in the defense had the 'reds' trailing by 9 (2-11) at the beginning of the game. Vangelis Mantzaris and Janis Strelnieks offered solution in the offense and helped our team take the lead by 1 (17-16 at 10'). With a 9-0 streak, Panathinaikos took a +8 lead (17-25 at 14') and relying on his good percentages from the perimeter, succeeded in closing the first half leading 35-30.
With pressing defense and Janis Strelnieks performing solo in the offense, Olympiacos tied the game 44-44 at 28', and took a 3p. lead (47-44) with a free throw by Thompson and a bucket by McLean. The "greens' answered with a partial 12-2, regaining the lead (49-56 at 32'), while they got to increase the distance even more (+12, 54-66 at 37'). Our team tried one last time to reverse the situation, but it was too late…
The quarter: 17-19, 30-35, 47-49, 62-70
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): ΜcLean 10, Papapetrou 11 (2), Αgravanis 1, Μilutinov 4 (7 rebounds), Strelnieks 18 (3), Printezis 3, Papanikolaou 2, Mantzaris 9 (1), Roberts 3, Thompson 1 .
Panathinaikos (Pasqual): Singleton 5(1), Rivers 12(2), Pappas 2, Gist 15(3), Vougioukas 2, Lekavicius 14(1), Gabriel 5(1), Lodjeski 9(1), Calathes 6, Αntentokoumpo.
"We need to pull ourselves together"
Giannis Sfairopoulos stated: "We did not play well. We did not fight like we wanted to and had planned before the game. We lost many balls in defense, easy balls, right out of our hands. On the other hand we did not threaten just like we had wanted and planned. We missed some open shots and lay ups and this messed with our confidence. It did not allow us to change the momentum of the game. We lost a home game, it's a tough loss, but we need to improve and play much harder next. Euroleague is just beginning, it's a bad result, but we need to pull together to continue".
On the offensive performance of the reds, he said: "Of course there is a problem in the offense and that's why we lost the game. We need to improve. Co-operations need to become better and we need to execute with more confidence. We missed a lot of open shots and lay ups. I think it's a matter of confidence".
Asked on whether he thinks that Olympiacos has a psychological problem when asked to face Panathinaikos, he answered: "No, I don't think so. We have beat Panathinaikos. We are not operating well in the offense, but also our defense, although not bad, could have been better".
On how he explains the fact that his team did not succeed to maintain control of the game after taking the lead, he commented: "We did not have concentration at that point. We also did not have a clear head when attacking… Some offenses were not under any pressure from the opponent and some inside buckets just did not go in. Things are simple. We were not able to keep the momentum with our good game".
Finally, on how Vasilis Spanoulis being away from the team, impacts the game, he stressed: "Spanoulis is our leader and when your leader doesn't play, it's a loss. We were playing well up to now and we have proved that we can play well. Of course when he joins us, the team is going to be complete. We miss that. It's also certain that some of the players need to step up. Strelnieks came here to have a leading role and he adapted to it, but also other players need to do the same, because that's what they came here to do. Of course they need to step up and play much better".
The Panathinaikos coach, Xavi Pasqual, stated: "We are happy for the victory. We generally did a good job tonight. We have had great concentration, confidence and our defensive performance was excellent. We controlled the tempo in the offense, we played smart. At the end of the first quarter and in the beginning of the third one we have had some problems, but we all in all played smart, especially in the offense against an opponent that is always difficult to play here. The schedule is not tough only on us, but on all the teams. We are always trying to finding solutions. We played a good game in Vitoria, but made 3-4 unbelievable mistakes at the end. Up to now we have played four games on the road and two at home for the Euroleague, a very tough program for the beginning of the season. We need to continue working because we have difficult games ahead".
On switching in the defense, he commented: "We are always preparing the game on a tactical point. We played a little different with Ian tonight. We may be doing a lot of different things in defense, not always successfully. Lekavicius is getting better every day, he's still young. He did not play well last week, but showed to have character today and he can help the team. That's why we got him and I'm happy because I think he has played his best game tonight since he joined us".
Asked which victory of the two he has succeeded over Olympiacos this season is more important, he answered: "Both victories are important, but none is decisive. Our original victory brought us to the first ranking seed, but tonight's victory is also very important following our defeats to Baskonia and AEK".
On whether he thinks Panathinaikos' good defense kept Olympiacos at low scoring or that it was simply a bad offensive night for his opponent, he said: "I have great respect for Olympiacos and their coach and I cannot talk about their team. In regard to us, you cannot win at this level without playing defense. Defense is our priority and tonight we were very focused. It was the key to winning".
Janis Strelnieks: "We have had an offense problem in the last games. Missing Spanoulis is very important. We have lost many rebounds resulting in receiving easy buckets and stopping us from running. We know how important these games are, but we need to work on our mistakes and stay together".
Jamel McLean: «We need to be better at practices. The season is long. We need to get better. We are going to lose and we are going to win games. We lost the rebounds, indeed. All my answers are going to be the same. We need to continue working. They won this game but the season is not over. We need to continue working at practices. Nothing has changed. We need to continue practicing».