Victory in OAKA
An extremely well read and prepared Olympiacos beat Panathinaikos Superfoods in OAKA 75-65 and low leads the finals series of the STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League 1-0 having Kostas Papanikolaou as his top scorer.
Good defense and with Brian Roberts leading the offense, Olympiacos made a strong start and led 7-2. However, the American guard had 2 fouls in just 3:42’’ of game time (having scored 7 points during that time), which forced Giannis Sfairopoulos to withdraw him immediately…
Panathinaikos counter attacked relying on its good long range percentages, as well as taking advantage of the ‘reds’ poor offensive choices and led for the first time in the game at 6’ (15-130. The ‘greens’ increased the distance to =10 (29-19) at 12’, however, our team had an immediate response…
Putting pressure in the defense, managed to contain the hosts, Ioannis Papapetrou and Vangelis Mantzaris offered substantial solutions and with a partial 16-3 run closed the first half leading 35-32.
Olympiacos got to control the tempo and with a three by Roberts was at +7 (38-45, at 25’), however, Olympiacos took advantage of the repeated turnovers made by our team and closed in at 3p. (49-52, at 30’0. Janis Strelnieks took over and with five points in a row took the difference to +8p. (49-57) at 32’.
With about 6:54’’ to the end the foul ridden Olympiacos saw Nikola Milutinov ejected with five fouls (the last two called in two consecutive plays!). Despite that, the Sfairopoulos’ players maintained their composure, went to good offensive choices and with Mantzaris and Papanikolaou scoring big threes took the difference to +11 (60-71, at 37’). In the last three minutes, just like throughout the game, Olympiacos was controlling the game and comfortably reached the final 65 – 75 without being actually threatened by the hosts.
The quarters: 26-19, 32-35, 49-52, 65-75.
Panathinaikos (Pasqual): Singleton 18 (1), Lojeski, James 23 (3), Gist 4, Calathes 8, Αntentokoumpo 4, Rivers 2, Pappas 1, Vougioukas 5, Lekavicius, Mitoglou.
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Spanoulis 4, Μilutinov 4, Printezis 2, Papanikolaou 14 (1 3p., 4 reb., 4 as., 1 st.), Roberts 12 (2), ΜcLean 7 (6 reb., 2 as., 2 bl.), Papapetrou 10 (2), Strelnieks 7 (1), Μantzaris 11 (3 3p., 3 as.), Bogris 2, Wiltjer 2.
THE QUOTES OF THE PROTAGONISTS
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: «We dominated the tempo throughout the game. From 5’ through 10’ our defense was not good. However, in the second quarter we only received six points. In the second quarter we made a very good effort, we read the game well and scored gutsy buckets. We deserved the victory. I’m always proud for my players, for how they fight and try. This may sometimes not be enough to bring the result we wish for, sometimes it is. The series continues, nothing has been finalized and my players are aware of that. We need to remain focused».
ΚOSTAS PAPANIKOLAOU: «We were excellent tactic wise. Panathinaikos likes to run and we contained them. They had their moments but what’s important, but what’s important is the break. The break will mean something if we win our home game. Should we lose at the SEF on Thursday, the series goes to zero. We have a long way to go. Congrats to all the guys. Panathinaikos wasn’t bad, we forced them into a game they don’t like. It’s very early into the series, we all need to keep humble and continue strongly working for the next games».