Succumbed to CSKA at the end

Olympiacos put up a fight, but did not succeed in coming back from Moscow with a victory. Our team 'paid' for a bad 3rd quarter and lost to CSKA 65-69, for the %th round of the Euroleague.

CSKA opened the score with Higgins (2-0), but then the hosts were trailing up until 23'… The 'reds' answered back with good defense and offensive pluralism and run a partial 20-2 (10-4 at 6'), while next, they saw to broaden the margin to +9 (18-27, at 15'). The hosts' creativity was hugely contained by Blatt's players, which was depicted in the first half stats, when the Russian passed only 4 assists, against 11 of our team! Nevertheless, relying on individual plays and good perimeter percentages by Rodriguez, they succeeded in closing in to a 2-pointer (31-33). Two free throws by Nikola Milutinov wrote the 31-35 score with which the first half was closed.

However, the 'good' Olympiacos was nowhere to be found in the 3rd quarter… The 'reds' were leading up to 23' (35-39). What followed were back to back turnovers, terrible offensive choices, which combined to the lackluster defense, allowed CSKA to counter attack and with a partial 15-2 turn the game upside down (50-41, at 27'). But David Blatt's players did not throw the towel… Solidifying their defense and with Vassilis Spanoulis leading the offense, they succeeded in tying the game 61-61 at 37' and again lay the ground for a victory. The score board wrote 63-63 at 39', but Olympiacos did not have a clear head in the last minute of the game, at least offense wise… Missed threes and lay ups decided the game for the hosts who wrote the final 69-65 exclusively scoring from the free throw line.

The quarters: 13-15, 31-35, 52-44, 69-65

CSKA (Ιtoudis): De Colo, Peters 6 (2), Anotnov, Rodriguez 20 (6), Vorontsevich 3 (1), Clyburn 17, Higgins 11 (3), Hackett, Kulagin 2, Hines 6, Hunter 4

Οlympiacos (Blatt): Williams-Goss 13 (3 3p., 3 as., 2 st.), Τoupane, Spanoulis 16 (3 3p., 6 as.), Τimma, Μilutinov 7 (7 reb., 2 as, 1 st.), Vezenkov, Printezis 14 (1 3p., 6 reb.), Papanikolaou 7 (1), Mantzaris, Leday 8 (5 reb.)

«We are disappointed…»

Olympiacos coach, David Blatt, did not hide being disappointed of the loss… "Congrats to CSKA, It is obvious that the game was a close one, which could have been won by either team. You need to remain focused for 40 minutes to win a team with CSKA's character. We played three very good quarters, as well as very poor one, when CSKA played very well and that made all the difference in the game. We are kind of disappointed and that's what we should be feeling because we have had a very good chance at winning against a very good team tonight".

On what exactly happened in the 3rd quarter and Olympiacos wasn't performing as well: "We made mistakes. We made 7 turnovers in that time. It's obvious that CSKA came into the second half acknowledging that they needed to improve on their aggressiveness. We were careless, we lost seven possessions, we lost the difference we had built and along with it, we lost the momentum. Seven turnovers in the third quarter is an excessive number, especially if we come to think that we have had only 5 in the previous two quarters. That's the explanation you've been asking for…"
Low scores don't fit with the Russian team, however, they were the ones to celebrated the victory at the end… "This proves CSKA's ability in a game that more or less was going our way. Despite that, our opponent found the way win and they deserve the credit for it. When you have a player that scores 6 threes… That's a factor in the game", coach Blatt commented. And went on to say: "Rodriguez scored 18 from the perimeter and not every shot was an easy one. When a game is that close, that's a very important factor".

Asked about Spanoulis' missed three about a minute before the end, he replied: "He did an outstanding job throughout the game and especially in the fourth quarter. He cannot be making all his shots… He made some very big ones… So, he lost one, you got to live with this. You cannot be asking him to making everything! Or you can be asking for everything, but you cannot necessarily demand that he makes it. I think that Billy played a great game. He had many minutes tonight, more than usual, because we needed him. We are missing Strelnieks, who is a very important players for us and now he has more burden on his shoulders to carry. However, he played an amazing game. I also want to talk about Williams-Goss. This is his first Euroleague season and that's not a small thing. This game, between these two teams is the highest Euroleague level and he did an excellent job. Considering it's his fist season in the competition, in this environment and under these circumstances. Maybe, at this moment, that's our difference with CSKA. They have great players with huge experience both on an individual level as well as that of a team one. I'm not looking for excuses, but if you take a realistic look, CSKA is a little ahead from where we have been. Maybe that was our difference in tonight's game. The experience and skills to have plays with more players than what we are ready to be doing at this moment".

Comparison between Kyle Hines and Zach Leday is an often one and the coach did not avoid said question: "I think, that before I came to the club, the good people of Olympiacos, had brought a young a unique player to the team and won championships with him. His name was Kyle Hines. Now that Kyle Hines is in your neighborhood, I see Zach becoming that kind of player… The more he evolves, he gains on experience and works on his game, I think that he truly can be an important Euroleague player. That's why we got him and I'm happy with his progress up to now. Of course, I expect more from him in the future. There is a saying, that what matters is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog. You can achieve a lot with your heart and with effort. Some times, the best things come from there".

As for his former player, Will Clyburn, who 'hurt' Olympiacos, he said: "It's a joy and a curse to always stumble upon players I have coached in the past. They reach the top and then I have to play against them. That means one of two things… Either I have done a very good job with these players, or I have been coaching for too long and I always happen to be at the wrong place. Will is great. I appreciate what he does. For instance, as I said before, Kyle Hines comes from Olympiacos. I hadn't coached him, but he was the product of the Olympiacos program and you see where he is right now. That's how these things go. I'm happy to have seen Will".

«Be better with details»

Giorgos Printezis stressed: "We tried very hard. It's hard to contain CSKA to scoring below 70 points… We did that, however, just like any other big game, it was decided by details… One rebound, one shot, one turnover… It's important to be building character and improve, because we essentially are a new team. It's certainly a pity we lost this game, however, to win, you need to learn to be the best with the details".

On the 3rd quarter, he commented: "This is CSKA… We only made 5 turnovers in the first half… But in the second one, they ran, found rhythm and turned the game around. We were able to come back with some good defense and Billy scoring, but, as I said before, when you play against such great teams, small details are the ones to decide how a game goes. We are not happy to have played well, neither are we going to leave it at that. You cannot and you shouldn't be stopping… It's important that everyone is gaining experience. However, if we want to be aiming at something more, we need to be working even harder. Generally, we succeeded in staying within our game plan and played good defense. But it's not enough… And regardless of being a new team, we are Olympiacos and we have an obligation to winning…".

Asked about the game of the 7th round against Panathinaikos, he replied: "This season's Euroleague is a Marathon. We all know how important victory is for both teams in these derbies. However, we have a different approach and we focus on one game at a time. The season is very long. It's the toughest Euroleague of all times, so it's going to take continuous effort. All teams have different periods with ups and downs… We have a tough schedule with continuous hard games, but this not an excuse… You need to continue working hard so as to be ready when the time is right".
On whether Olympiacos is actually a defensive or an offensive team, he said: "There are going to be days when you cannot just run… In games like tonights, when CSKA had really studied us, it's hard to find easy scoring. We have players that have the experience and on 2nd gear, they 'read' the game. In closed games, we need to be making the correct decisions, move the ball and finding points through our defense and organized game".