Second victory this season in Istanbul!
Olympiacos won his second road game in his beloved city! The 'reds' bested Anadolu Efes 61-58 for the 14th day of the Euroleague and continue enjoying the view from the top of the rankings!
Our team made the worse beginning possible in the game, since not only they did not score one point in the first 3:30 of the game but on top of that they made five turnovers! However, they were "saved" but their good defense, since during that time, they did not allow Efes to score more than four points! The team then found rhythm in the offense, moved the ball with patience, "struck" from the perimeter and with a partial 15-3 "built" a 10 point lead (7-17 at 9').
A three by Hollis Thompson sent the 'reds' to +11 (9-20) at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, however, bad choices in the offense and poor defense allowed the hosts to close in at two points (22-24 at 15') running a partial 13-4. Kostas Papanikolaou and Jamel McLean stopped the scoring drought for Olympiacos (24-33) and helped the team close the first half leading 33-25.
In the second half, the players of Giannis Sfairopoulos seemed disorganized. They were making back to back turnovers, making bad offensive choices, losing the battle in the post and saw Anadolu "chewing away" the margin, hence making a one point game (39-40 at 28'). Vasilis Spanoulis too over and with the help of Hollis Thompson offered Olympiacos a margin of 6p. (39-45 at 30').
Ataman's players however did not abandon the fight and with a partial 11-2 got to lead 50-47 at 34'. From that point on, Olympiacos was trailing until a three by Papapetrou gave him the lead once again (54-56, with 1:30'' to the end), while Spanoulis, from the same distance, wrote the 56-59 at 39'. Efes made the score 58-59 with 2 free throws by McCollum, McLean made his free throws to make the score 58-61 with 26'' to go, McCollum missed a three and McLean got the rebound that 'sealed' another road victory!
The quarters: 9-17, 25-33, 39-45, 58-61
Αnadolu Efes (Ataman): Ledo, McCollum 16 (1), Brown 11 (1), Batuk, Motum, Adams 4, Stimac 6, Dragic, Dunston 4 , Simon 17 (2).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): ΜcLean 9 (7 reb., 3 as.), Papapetrou 6 (2 3p., 4 reb.), Spanoulis 12 (3 3p., 4 reb., 4 as.), Strelnieks 1, Papanikolaou 4, Mantzaris 2(2as.), Roberts 7 (1), Bogris 4, Wiltjer 5(1), Τhompson 11 (1 3p., 5reb., 1st.)
"Defense and focus were the keys"
Good defense and the absence of panic when Efes got to lead in the 4th quarter were the keys that gave Olympiacos the victory according to coach Giannis Sfairopoulos. "Both teams have had tough games before this one. We spend a lot of energy against CSKA and that's the reason we were losing the ball so easily at the beginning of the game and the beginning of the 3rd quarter. However, the most important thing was our good defense, because Efes got to score 58 points, 21 less than their average. Good defense controlled the tempo for most part, but at the end our opponent reacted and got the lead. That was a very crucial point, however, we did not panic, we remained focused, with two or three good defensive plays and with two smart plays in the offense and a couple of threes by Papapetrou and Spanoulis gave us the lead once again. Of course, we were lucky at the end, because their best player had the chance to shoot an open three, but he missed and we won. Congrats to my players for the second victory in a row. Now we need to rest and have our injured players come back".
"Defense gave us another victory"
Olympiacos relied on his defense once again and won. "It was a strange game" Kostas Papanikolaou admitted. "I have never seen our team so tired. We felt we were one notch down. The most important thing was however that we remained true to our defensive principles, that helped us win despite making many turnovers. Our defense gave us one more victory. We won CSKA with a high score, tonight we did the opposite. And this is big. It's important to have our defense always solid".
The 'reds' forward added: "Efes ranks low, but this is surprising viewing their roster. This game was a lot like the one against Bamberg, where although we were again leading by ten and were controlling the game, the opponent made a come back… Anything can happen at the end, it would be a pity though to once again betray ourselves. Important defensive plays at the end plus rebounds, combined to big shots by Vasilis were decisive".
Hollis Thompson pointed out: "It was a tough game, there was an energy issue. I'm here to do whatever the team needs me to do to win. It's definitely a different style of play compared to the NBA and I'm trying to find rhythm and help the team. Many things are different, especially tactic wise…"