Gave back the home court advantage...
Olympiacos did not succeed in taking advantage of the victory in OAKA… The 'reds' lost at the SEF to Panathinaikos 66-71 … returning the home court advantage.
Our team controlled the tempo during the first four minutes of the game and led 15-11. However, Panathinaikos put pressure in the defense, 'struck' from the 6.75 m. and with a partial 10-0 streak went ahead in the score at 7' (15-21. The Sfairopoulos' players made better choices when attacking and initially balanced the game (25-25 at 9'). They then put pressure in the defense, completely stopped the assets of the 'greens' and closed the first half leading 43-40.
Their return on the floor however, was more than lackluster… For about six minutes they completely lost touch with scoring and what stopped Panathinaikos from gaining a wider margin than that of 4p. (43-47) was their good defensive game. Vassilis Spanoulis and Ioannis Papapetrou temporarily gave the 'reds' the lead (50-49). The guests exploited on the unresolved offensive problem of our team and with a partial run of 16-2 sent the difference to +13 (52-65) at 34'.
With Giorgos Printezis being the face of the offense, Olympiacos closed in at 6p. (61-67, 3:45'' before the end), Panathinaikos put up a strong resistance; however, the 'reds' did not give up the fight… With 46.5'' on the clock, Bobby Brown made 1 of 2 free throws giving Olympiacos a 3p. game (66-69). A shot off target by James followed (21.8'' before the end), Kostas Papanikolaou grabbed the rebound, but Papapetrou was called a foul on Singleton, away from the ball (!). The American forward made one of his free throws (score 66-70), Vassilis Spanoulis missed a lay up and Lojeski wrote the final 66-71 with one free throw after everything was decided.
The quarters: 25-27, 43-40, 50-56, 66-71
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Spanoulis 12 (5 as.), Μilutinov 5, Printezis 9, Papanikolaou 6 (10 reb., 4 as., 1 st., 2 bl.), Ρoberts 7 (1), ΜcLean 4, Brown 4 (1), Papapetrou 13 (2), Strelnieks 3(1), Mantzaris, Wiltjer 3 (1).
Panathinaikos (Pasqual): Singleton 6, Rivers 5, Gist 8, Lojeski 13 (2), Calathes 18 (3), James 17 (7/12 2p, 0/4 3p), Vougioukas, Lekavicius, Auguste 4, Antentokoumpo.
«As if we were afraid to win»
Giannis Sfairopoulos stressed: "Tonight we lost a huge opportunity to win, mainly due to our passive game at the beginning of the third quarter. Despite the zone defense Panathinaikos used at the beginning, we were not taken aback, we were prepared for it. We played very well against the zone. Generally, we were controlling the game at the end of the first half. However, I think that in the beginning of the second half, we were rushing to finish plays, which should have finished in a more determined manner. This kept us from scoring. And although having received only five points in the first five minutes, we were obviously struggling to score in the beginning of the 3rd quarter, where I think was when the game was decided. We made a last go at the end with a short line up and Printezis playing the '5'. We tried to turn the game around, we did that, but maybe we could have done something more at the end. The series is tied 1-1, we need to regroup and go play the third game in OAKA".
"It's only logical that the team playing at home has the greatest pressure. It was obvious tonight. Especially in the second half, it seemed as if we were afraid to win. We had the chance to score on the open court, we missed a lot of free throws, while we received some easy buckets one on one and I think these are the facts the decided the game".
On his part, Xavi Pasqual said: "We are happy for the victory. It was a typical playoffs game. Both teams played good defense and tried to control the tempo. It was a game when we started feeling better step by step into it, we played some great defense in the second half and got this important victory".
On what changed and Panathinaikos presented a different team, he said: "These are the playoffs and every playoffs game is different. We have played great throughout the season. We have had a very good season coming to final undefeated. That's why the way we played on Sunday was a surprise, we played terrible. The difference between a normal and a good team is that when something like that happens, the good one reacts. We reacted. Tonight we saw a much more typical playoffs game. When Panathinaikos and Olympiacos play like that, a couple of plays can decide the result".
When asked to comment on this season's undefeated record of Panathinaikos at the SEF, he pointed out… "I don't have anything to comment. Each time we try to win. It's difficult to do that, but when you win so many games in a row you come closer to losing at some point".
Asked on how important it is for different players to step up, he replied: "It's very important for all the players to help us the most they can in any game. We need them all, but each game night is different. We don't know what is going to happen next, however, the most important thing is to find the way to win as a team. We now have the Sunday game. It's a new game for both teams. We play at home and we are going to have a little more pressure, we are going to have to manage the pressure, our feelings and play smart like we did tonight".
On not using Nikos Pappas, he clarified: "It was a tactical decision. We wanted to create a different kind of advantage for us. We played for a long time with our big guys. It was tactics and nothing more. Of course when you are with a team like Panathinaikos or Olympiacos and one player doesn't get to play, he becomes the protagonist. It's always the same".