Easy victory over Red Star
The fatigue factor does not even touches Olympiacos. Before even 48 hours were completed from the great on the road victory in Istanbul, the Sfairopoulos players brought tons of energy on the floor and easily beat Red Star at the SEF 85-59 for the 8th day of the Euroleague competition.
Using its dominance under the rim thanks to the performances of Printezis and Milutinov, Olympiacos imposed the tempo from the beginning of the game and got a +12 p. difference (22-10 at 9'). A 9-0 streak allowed the guests to close in at 3 p. (22-19). The 'reds' wasted not time answering back… They found target from the perimeter, once again increased the difference to double digits (40-30 at 17') and maintained it till the completion of the first half (47-37).
Good defense and passing the ball into the post (initially to Milutinov and then to McLean) allowed for the margin to go to +16 in the 3rd quarter (63-46 at 29'). Using the same defensive consistency and with the shots from behind the 6.75m. arc finding target, our team even found itself leading by +28 (85-57 at 39'), forcing the guests to prematurely throw a white towel.
The quarters: 22-13, 47-37, 67-49, 85-59
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): ΜcLean 9 (3reb. 3 as., 3st.), Τoliopoulos, Papapetrou 11 (1 3p., 4 reb., 2 as.), Αgravanis 3 (1), Μilutinov 13 (12reb.), Strelnieks 9 (1 3p., 5 as.), Printezis 9 (1 3p., 7 reb.), Papanikolaou 5, Μantzaris 6 (1), Roberts 6 (2), Wiltjer, Τhompson 14 (2).
Red Star (Αlibijevic): Keselj, Radisevic 2, Dangubic 3, Lazic, Antic 9 (3), Dobric 4, Feldeine 6 (1), Rochestie 20 (4), Lessort 1, Jovanovic 8, Bjelica 6.
«Thank you for the support»
Our team's coach Giannis Sfairopoulos appeared to be completely satisfied by our team's performance: "We deserved to win the game. We controlled it from beginning to end. We were very focused, very determined to play a good game. We stopped the opponent with our defense apart from some small gaps in the game. But we generally played a very good defensive game. Our players moved the ball very well in offense and made the best choices available. I think that the final score is proof enough of how the game evolved tonight".
Asked about what changed and Olympiacos has had a better offensive performance, he answered: "I had said that we haven't forgotten how to play basketball. When you play a lot of games there is always fatigue. You may be having a 2-3 games momentum and not play up to your standards in offense. That's why I always say that defense wins you games, even if you don't have a good offensive night. That's what we always do. We are determined enough to play better in offense as well. Without this meaning that we hadn't been playing well up to now… Don't forget that until Khimki , everyone was say that the team was playing well in offense. It happened that we weren't that good for a couple of games. The team has many choices when attacking, we work well as a team. As you all saw tonight, no one player stood apart at scoring, however, we were pluralistic, we had many players that scored and that's what a team is. I'm very happy when the team functions this way on both ends of the court. Good for them".
Finally, when he was asked to comment on the "warm" reception the Olympiacos fans extended him, but also them cheering for him during the game rhythmically chanting his name, he said: "I'd like to thank the fans for supporting me and the team. It's certain that the fans are sad when we lose to Panathinaikos, but we also get upset. They need to know that. However, that's how sports are. You cannot always win. They need to have faith in the team and everyone around it. The team is working and winning titles. We want the fans to support us when times are tough, not only when everything seems to be going fine. The team has proved to be worth it. So, I wish to thank the fans for supporting the team and me".