Defeated in Belgrade
Olympiacos lost in Belgrade to Red Star 78-89 for the 20th day of the Euroleague.
Our team was leading 10-6 at 3', however, the hosts were not late in turning the situation upside down… Relying on good percentages from the perimeter, they replied with a 9-0 run and got to be leading by 5 (15-10 at 5'). The 'reds' were struggling to score and adding gaps in the defense, allowed Red Star to broaden the margin even more (12p., 36-24 at 16'). Sfairopoulos' players tried to put more pressure in the defense, however, the Serbians maintained control and went to the locker rooms after the end of the first half with a 9 point difference for them (43-34).
In the second half, our team played pressing defense and was able to overturn the situation. Led by Brian Roberts, Kostas Papanikolaou that was present on every corner of the floor, Kyle Wiltjer that found a 'hot' hand from behind the 6.75m. line and Nikola Milutinov winning the battles in the post, got ahead 58-57 at 28', while at 31', our team was winning by +8 (57-65). Red Star nevertheless, that was playing without its coach, Dusan Almpijevic, in the bench since 23' due to the latter's ejections with two technical fouls, refused to abandon the fight…
The Serbs were able to once again 'block' our team and with a partial score of 19-6 regained the lead (76-71 at 37'). Vasilis Spanoulis made a three point play (75-78), however, from that point on, the 'reds' completely collapsed offensive wise and watched the Serbians 'skyrocketing' the margin to +13 following a 10-0 run (88-75) and practically deciding the game.
The quarters: 24-20, 43-34, 57-63, 89-78.
Red Star (Αlimpijevic): Dangubic 11(2), Davidovac 9, Lazic 2, Dobric 5(1), Jankovic 6, Rochestie 11(1), Omic 6, Lessort 9, Ennis 21(4), Bjelica 9
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): ΜcLean 1, Spanoulis 16(3), Μilutinov 7 (7 reb.), Strelnieks 5(1), Printezis 9 (2 3p., 6 reb), Papanikolaou 12(1 3p., 8 reb.), Mantzaris 4, Roberts 14(2), Wiltjer 10(2), Τhompson.
"We lost our concentration"
The 'reds' coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, stated: "Congratulations to Red Star for winning. They played much better for the most part of the game and especially in the last quarter. We talked with the players at half time and told them that they should be tougher with the defense and that's what they did. We played good defense, despite not making a good start in that aspect. When we play good defense we get into rhythm with our offense as well, that's why we scored 29 points in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, we made 3-4 turnovers under the basket in the beginning of the 4th quarter and Red Star scored easy points in the fast break. After that, we lost our concentration at the same time that our opponent was scoring easy baskets and some tough threes with Ennis. They got the lead and it was very difficult for us to come back".
Asked why is it that Olympiacos does not play as good as in previous seasons, he replied: "I disagree. We are second and we are fighting for the home court advantage. We have played good games. We beat CSKA, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce on the road. Aren't you aware of these results? Yes, we haven't been playing well lately, but it's not the whole season. This is only normal in this Euroleague format to not be stable with your performances. We cannot keep playing at the same high level till the end. It's a Marathon of games and we need to remain mentally agile to fight to the end in every single game. It happens that some times the momentum is bad for you. We have had many injuries from the beginning up to now. It is never since the beginning of the season that our team has played with its full roster and that has had an impact on the shape the team is in, because some players are off, some other get to play more and they get tired… And all of this does not allow us to work as we would have wanted. Of course we need to continue working hard and fight every game and of course we need to play better".
"Let's get our identity back"
The American guard, Brian Roberts, pointed out: "We played like Olympiacos should be playing in the third quarter and played our best offensive game. However, we allowed them to run and make their shots in the fourth quarter… We can't be expecting to win with only one good quarter, especially when playing on the road. We should be playing the same for 40 minutes. Our success in the first part of the season was due to our defense and we have kind of lost this a bit… We need to stop our opponents playing good defense, which will allow us to score as well. We need to get our heads straight, so as to be able to fight every game".