100 points and 1-0!
Olympiacos beat Prometheus Patrai at the SEF 108-71 and now leads the semis of the STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League 1-0. Nikola Milutinov returned to action in this particular game.
Poor offensive choices and many turnovers (five in the first six minutes!), allowed the guests to lead 10-9 at 6'. However, the reaction of the 'reds' was imminent… They improved the ball movement, put pressure in defense and with 7/7 two pointers closed the first quarter leading by 8 (22-14).
They didn't stop there though… Good defense created a very serious offensive problem for Prometheus, at the same time when the 'reds' were successfully striking both from the perimeter, as well from inside the post and took the difference to +22 (45-23, at 20').
Giannis Sfairopoulos players continued playing up tempo in the second half as well… By 23', the difference was +26 (57-31), while it was easily maintained at +20 up until the end of the 3rd quarter (21p., 75-54).
Janis Strelnieks offered a new offensive push to Olympiacos. The Latvian guard opened … fire from behind the three point line and our team run a 11-0 partial and found itself leading with +32 (86-54, at 32'). Victory was prematurely decided, nevertheless, the 'reds' were willing to fight to the end, proven by the fact the margin got even wider at 39' (+37, 105-68).
The quarters: 22-14, 45-23, 75-54, 108-71
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Papapetrou 13(1), Spanoulis 9 (6 as.), Roberts 8(1), Bogris 6, Wiltjer 8 (2), ΜcLean 8 (4 as.), Μilutinov 7, Strelnieks 18 (5/5 3p.), Printezis 13(1), Papanikolaou 8 (1 3p., 9 reb., 5 as.), Mantzaris 10 (2 3p., 5 as.).
Prometheus (Giatras): Gkikas 2, Faye 16(2), Saloustros 3(1), Prather 16(2), Ellis 4, Lipovyy 3 , Τountziarakis 4 (1), Skoufis, Geromichalos 8, Dimakos 10 (2), Hall 2 , Mantzoukas 3
«We need to find rhythm»
Giannis Sfairopoulos commented after his team's first victory in the series… "We began very focused. We did what we had to do. We played a good game for a most of its part and it's important that we witnessed our entire roster coming back. The goal now is not just to win all the games, but for the guys that had been off due to injury to get back into rhythm. I think that the team has a lot of room to find playing rhythm, improve and find its chemistry once again following the ins and outs of the injuries. That's our goal as the games unfold".
Asked on whether the first game against Kymi was a warning bell for his players, he replied: "The important thing is that the team is trying. Against Kymi, we had been playing a very emphatic game up to 18'. The more we play together, the better we will be. I think that all of our players are trying hard for this. We need to keep working because we have a lot of room for improvement".
Asked to comment on the three point shot percentages, he said: "We have had a lot of injuries while we were playing the Euroleague. We weren't able to play as we would have wanted. When you cope with so many injuries, you just can't find rhythm. Now the team is working together, they are playing good on court. When you are able to practice, your percentages are certain to get better, just like your overall performance".