Heavy loss in Vitoria
Olympiacos lost in Vitoria to Baskonia 86-54 for the 17th day of the Euroleague.
The 'reds' made a strong beginning in the game and using their good percentages from the perimeter got to lead 8-0 at 2', while they maintained control up to 9' (20-12). However, the things went south afterwards… Threes were not going in, the hosts' defense created a serious offensive problem for the 'reds' (proof enough the mere 9 points our team got to score in the 2nd quarter), while at the same time the big guys for Baskonia, Voigtmann and Poirier, were scoring at will and hence built a 6 point margin for the hosts (36-30).
Olympiacos continued making the same mistakes in the second half and offering the Basques secondary offenses, which they exploited on and thus got to widen the difference to +16 (48-32 at 24'). They did not stop there though… The 'reds' continued operating very poorly in regard to their offensive game, resulting in the situation spinning out of control (Baskonia was leading by 32 at 29', 72-40). This resulted in the fourth quarter being of a solely procedural character, since our team did not even find the energy to try and shrink the difference.
The quarters: 16-21, 36-30, 72-44, 86-54
Baskonia (Μartinez): Vildoza 6(1), Timma, Voigtmann 19, Beaubois 13, Janning 8(2), Diop 6, Granger 5(1), Poirier 13, Jones, Shengelia 9 (1), Garino 7 (1).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): McLean 5, Papapetrou 3, Spanoulis 6 (2 3p., 8 as.), Μilutinov 6, Strelnieks 1, Printezis 13 (1 3p., 6 reb), Papanikolaou 5 (1 3p., 5 reb.), Mantzaris 6(1), Roberts 2, Bogris 2, Wiltjer, Τhompson 5
"Τhe score talks for itself..."
The Olympiacos coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, did not even start to analyze the game, since as he pointed out: "I have not much to say about the game. The score talks for itself. Congratulations to Baskonia, they played very well. We did not get into the game after the first quarter. We lost our concentration, we were very nervous, we missed some open shots… All of that had an impact on our concentration and then we collapsed".
"We need to have the proper reaction"
Kostas Papanikolaou commneted: "The team did not have the energy shown in other games. From that point on, when this happens, everything moves one step back… The reaction, the organization in our defense, the defensive transition, even offensive rebounds are a matter of energy. Open shots go in on some nights, on some others, not. However, focus on defense should always be the same. Of course, if certain shots went in, they would have given us some extra energy, but we are talking about a championship team and you need to be able to focus at the same levels at any time. I think a combination of factors played a role tonight… focus, fatigue, a little of everything that led us to a bad outlook, that does not reflect accurately on my team".
On the tough week that follows, the 28year old forward, said: "We have a week ahead of us with two European games. Everyone knows how difficult this is. It's a fact that we are going to work even more and try to bring out the ego needed to cope. Anyone who hasn't felt a blow to their ego tonight does not belong to a championship team for my standards. We all need to regroup and work hard to show who we really are next week".
Asked about Maccabi Tel Aviv and Khimki and their up tempo game, he replied: "We have to play two very particular teams, but at this moment we need to look within, at our work, our team and then at each one game separately… Our team is of priority right now and each one of us needs to have the necessary reaction".