"Swept" the way to the finals !
Olympiacos 'swept' the semis, won the third game against Prometheus in Patrai 89-56 and with a 3-0 record sealed the ticket to the Basket League finals where he will be facing off with Panathinaikos.
Despite a great number of turnovers in the first quarter (a total of 8 for only 3 by Prometheus), Olympiacos set the tempo and relying on good perimeter percentages 'built' a difference of +11 (9-20) at 7'. From that point on, the 'reds' completely controlled the tempo and with Janis Strelnieks leading the offense took the margin to +17 (25-42, at 17'). However, the Patrai team replied with a partial 8-2 and closed in at 11p. (33-44), with the completion of the first half.
In the second half, Nikola Milutinov did an excellent job defending and rebounding, our team ran the fast break and with Kyle Wiltjer and Brian Roberts spearheading the offense, the difference went to 20 points (40-60) at 27'. The hosts closed in 46-62 by the end of the third quarter, however, that was as far as they got to go… Good defense and a pluralistic offense was Olympiacos answer that ran a partial 13-0 and sent the difference to +29 (46-75, at 35'), putting an end to the game at that point. Nevertheless, the 'reds' did not slow down, which is evident in the final score of 56-89 (+33 was the widest score margin of the game).
The quarters: 16-24, 33-44, 46-62, 56-89
Prometheus (Giatras): Gkikas 2, Faye 5, Saloustros 12(2), Prather 10, Ellis 4, Lypovyy 6, Τountziarakis 5, Skoufis, Geromichalos 2, Dimakos 6, Hall 4, Mantzoukas.
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Spanoulis 3 (4 as.), Papanikolaou 7(2), Roberts 9(1), Bogris 3, Wiltjer 14 (2 3p., 9 reb), ΜcLean 8, Papapetrou 2 (5reb.), Μilutinov 6 (3 st.), Strelnieks 22 (5), Printezis 6 (10 reb.), Μantzaris 9 (1 3p., 5 as.)
"We had high levels of concentration"
Giannis Sfairopoulos commented: "Today we played a very good game, especially defense wise. We stopped Prometheus assets. We read the game better and executed better in our defense and this resulted on not receiving easy points as well as allowing us to score easy points in the fast break and in the open court. We also moved the ball correctly and when this happens you have a good rhythm in your offense. We played a consistent game, throughout the forty minutes time. We won all quarters and we were really focused on what we had to do. Congratulations to our players for their will to defend and play the game till the end. Also, I would like to congratulate Prometheus and Mr. Giatras for an excellent season. The atmosphere in the gym was great. It's really nice to be playing in such an atmosphere. I would also like to thank the Olympiacos fans that came here today, supported us and helped us. We really appreciate them".
Asked on the transformation of his team in regard to the second semi final, he replied: "Not the whole game had been bad. We were leading with +22 at 22'. So, we are talking about being passive or inactive in the last 18 minutes. I think we kind of relaxed having won the first game with great ease as well, we thought that it was going to be easy. That was our mistake. I can't say that we played bad from the beginning to the end. That game taught us a lesson, just like I had said during the Press Conference. It taught us a lesson, without practically costing us anything. Today we were focused and did all we had to do till the end of the game. All the guys that played were focused on their role. We had high levels of concentration".
On the return of Nikola Milutinov: "Olympiacos relies on all his players. Nevertheless, when you have three or four players injured and they are off or playing not to the best of their abilities due to their injuries, then you are at a disadvantage. Nikola is getting better as time goes by, just like Printezis and Papanikolaou. Strelnieks was also injured in the games against Zalgiris. We are overcoming all of that and we are getting in better rhythm in view of the finals. We have 3 or 4 days, we will rest tonight and tomorrow we start preparing".
"I had to take those shots"
The 22 points scored by Janis Strelnieks in the 3rd semi final are a personal record for the Latvian guard while with the 'reds'… "It's not really important. The important thing is to win the game. I was allowed to take open shots, so I had to take them. I was open and they went in", he said.
On the easy victory in Patrai and how it came, he commented: "Prometheus … 'kicked' us in the gut in the second game and we weren't willing to allow that to happen again. That's why we began the game really focused. We lost the offensive rebounds in the first half, but we controlled them in the second one and won".
Asked on whether Olympiacos will be extra motivated in the finals against Panathinaikos, he replied: "You don't need any extra motivation in these games. Both teams are going to give their all and fight for the title. They are going to be interesting games for the fans that are going to watch them. We need to stay positive and do our job".
On his part, Vangelis Mantzaris stressed: "We relaxed in the second game against Prometheus, we lost our concentration. We had a difference of +22 in our favor and just like it happened against Kymi, we almost lost the game. This is something we need to fix because against Panathinaikos, there are no such margins for ups and downs or errors. We need to show durability with our concentration. It's a huge derby and we all know very well what it means. We are going to fight to win the championship".
On how much being disqualified against Zalgiris had an impact on the team: "It really hurt us not going to the final four. We practically lost home court advantage. But what is done, is done. We can't change it. That's sports. It would be amazing if we could be at the final four each season, but unfortunately, it's not feasible. What's left is for us to finish the season strong, with a title that we know is really important for us and our fans. It really hurts us that we haven't won a title in the last couple of years. We want to win it and we are going to do our best. We'll give all we have".