A winning performance in Rethymno

Relying on his good defense and offensive pluralism, Olympiacos got a comfortable victory in Rethymno against the local team (86-66), for the 18th day of the STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League.

Good defense and with Ioannis Papapetrou leading the offense, our team set the tempo and "built" an 11p. difference (15-4, at 5'). However, the Sfairopoulos' players lost control as time was pacing… Poor ball movement and bad choices in the attack allowed the hosts to gradually chirp at the difference (12-19, at 10') and tie the game 21-21 at 14'. But it was only up to that point. The 'reds' continued relying on their defense, dominated rebounding, found offensive solutions with Spanoulis and Brian Roberts and with a partial 18-2 sent the difference to +16 (39-23, at 19').

Rethymno closed in at 28-40 at the end of the first half; however, Olympiacos launched a three pointer … storm (with a total of 15/23 from the 6.75m. arc) that gave the team a +27 lead (34-61, at 27'). From that point on, it was a one team show and that team was ours. Good defense and offensive pluralism (53-77, at 35'), allowed the 'reds' to maintain complete control and succeeded a very comfortable victory.  

The quarters: 12-19, 28-40, 41-64, 66-86.

Rethymno (Vetoulas):  Goodwin 17 (3), Moody 14 (3), Lee 8, Giannopoulos, Armstead 11, Daniels 10 (1), Κottas 4, Stefanidis, Dragatis, Panaretakis, Theodoridis, Hobson 2.

Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos):Papapetrou 16 (2), Spanoulis 15 (4 3p., 8 as), Μilutinov 4, ΜcLean, Brown 14 (4), Printezis 6, Μantzaris 3 (1), Τoliopoulos, Strelnieks 9 (2), Τillie 5 (1, 7 reb.), Ρoberts 10 (1), Bogris 4.

"We can do better"

Olympiacos' coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, was content with the image his players projected, however, he stressed that they can be even better… "We knew we had to face a very good team. A very athletic team that can be very aggressive at home. They like to run the open court, score easy points at fast break and threes in the transition. We controlled the game with our good defense. We covered for one another, closed the corridors, did not receive easy points, did not received points from offensive rebounding which Rethymno is very keen at getting, and we controlled the game. The more the time passes we need to be playing even better. We can do better. We are coming close to a crucial time in the season. We have room for improvement. I wish Rethymno all the best. For us, the game against Barcelona is priority. It's a very important and critical game and we are focusing on it".

Asked on whether Bobby Brown and Kim Tillie have adjusted, he answered: "Yes, they have adjusted. They have improved, but they can get even better, just like the team can get better as a whole. Today, we watched all the players stepping up and that makes me really happy".

Bobby Brown commented on how adjusted he is with his new team: "The coach has been helping me on a daily basis, my team mates also… Up to now everything is great!" Asked about the key of the victory against Rethymno, he said: "Our defense was the key. We knew that Rethymno is a fast team with offensive guards. We remained true to our game principles, played good defense and got the victory". Finally, on the game against Barcelona: "They are a good team. We play at home and we need to protect it. We need the victory and I think that if we stick by our plan we are going to make it".