A "powerful" return to the Basket League
Olympiacos bested PAOK with a 96-77 score in the empty to SEF -due to punishment imposed by the League - for the 24th day of the STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League. Giorgos Printezis, Nikola Milutinov and Kim Tillie did not play due to injuries, while the last one will be out for the remainder of the season.
With good defense and Brian Roberts and Kyle Wiltjer leading the offense, the 'reds' built a 15p. difference (22-7 at 7'). However, the continuous mistakes (a total of 8 in the first quarter) and the lax defensive by our team, allowed PAOK to have a two point game, running a 13-0 streak. The Sfairopoulos' players however were quick to react… They put pressure in the defense, moved the ball better in the offense, went with good choices (especially with Kostas Papanikolaou, Vangelis Mantzaris and Janis Strelnieks) and regained complete control of the game (+18, 51-33, at 19').
The end of the first half found Olympiacos to +16 (53-37), however, the team wasn't as effective in the second half… For about four minutes, any contact with the basket was lost and this gave PAOK the opportunity to close in at 6p. (53-47, at 24'). Nevertheless, the 'reds' got to wake up at that point… They improved on their defense, "struck" both from the perimeter, as well as from the post and sent the difference to 21p. (73-52 at 29').
Despite the victory seemed decided, the Sfairopoulos' players did not relax… On the contrary, with Ioannis Papapetrou leading the offense, they increased the difference to +25 (91-66 at 37'). The 18 year old guard Nikos Arsenopoulos got also to play during the last three minutes.
The quarters: 25-20, 53-37, 73-55, 96-77.
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): ΜcLean 6, Spanoulis 8 (1), Papanikolaou 12 (2), Roberts 13 (1), Wiltjer 10 (1), Brown , Toliopoulos 2, Papapetrou 21 (3), Strelnieks 13 (3), Mantzaris 7 (1), Arsenopoulos, Bogris 4 .
PAOK (Papatheodorou): Petteway, Charalampopoulos, Κatsivelis 7 (1), Jackson 7 (1), Goss 13 , Chrysikopoulos 8(2), Krubally 13, Koniaris 6 (1), Tsochlas 9 (1), Margaritis 1, Ζaras 4, Jones 9.
«We'll be getting stronger as time goes by»
Giannis Sfairopoulos stressed: "We played a good game today. We played very good basketball on both ends of the floor. We needed such a game following the Euroleague playoffs. The team has had the time to rest for two days after our last game, to work and I think that today we saw freshness on the court and a different speed. Despite having players that had been away due to injuries. I think that the more time passed and as the injured players will be coming back, we'll be getting stronger, so as to return to the competitive tempo we had been at and that we want to have".
And continued talking about the injured players… "We know that Bogris has been having a problem and has been playing with it. He deserves credit for that. Congrats to him and to the players that have been playing while coping with injuries. However, that what it takes to be a championship team … If the problem is not major, then I continue to play and good for them. It's important that despite what the problems were, we played as a team on both ends of the floor. Let's not forget that PAOK has had seven wins in a row, they had a good momentum going for them, they were in rhythm. We played a pluralistic game, we had six players with double digits and this is good for the team, the same with the defense, when the players were covering for one another. We controlled the game in general. The players that played today face no serious injuries, except for Bogris. The rest are recovering and we still don't know when they are getting back. The more the time passes it's in their best interest. They will be coming back and they will be re-enforcing the team".
On his turn, PAOK' coach, Ilias Papatheodorou, pointed out: "Congrats to Olympiacos and the coach for the victory. We were obviously impacted by the big break that came during a very crucial time for us. We played a very mediocre defensive game. We allowed many opportunities for Olympiacos to create and execute under the circumstances best for them. They had twenty assists. Despite their many turnovers, it was very hard for us to follow. We should have been shooting very well and be efficient will all of plays, however, this is not a way to play especially against Olympiacos and especially on a road game. Because both games that follow are back to back and there is no time, we should be immediately activating the part that addresses our focus if we want to play for something more till the end of the playoffs. We have discussed that part of the game with the players a lot. 80% of the teams and players stop playing in May. The championship teams play in June too. If we don't change our mentality and become tougher and more focused, I think we will not be finishing the season the way we want to. The time is tight, we need to be activated immediately. All the best to Olympiacos for the rest of the season".