A comfortable afternoon in Rhodes
Olympiacos bested Kolossos in Rhodes 86-77, for the 9th day of the Betshop Basket League.
In view of a two game Euroleague week, David Blatt chose to rest Vassilis Spanoulis and Giorgos Printezis, while he also did not have Dimitris Agravanis available, who is injured. However, the absences did not affect the 'reds'. Following an initial 'scouting' quarter (11-12), Olympiacos dominated the post with Nikola Milutinov and built a difference of +8 (11-19, at 9'). With good defense and Axel Toupane signaling the attack, our team - despite its poor perimeter percentages (1/6 threes in the first half) - imposed the tempo and got to lead by +13 (17-30, at 15'). The hosts tried to come back and closed in at 7 (29-36), however, a 4-0 streak by Vezenkov and Milutinov, gave Olympiacos the chance to close the first half with a +11 (29-40).
Olympiacos was kind of "laid back" when defending in the second half, which allowed the hosts to close in at 6 (39-45, at 25'). However, the 'reds' started scoring from the three point line and together with a now solid defense that allowed for fast breaks, regained them complete control (46-62, at 31'). Olympiacos got to leady even by +17 (56-73, at 36'), but Kolosses ran a partial 6-0 and closed in at 9 (62-73 at 37'). But that was as far as they went… David Blatt's players restored order quickly and won the game 67-86. It's worth mentioning that an under age player, Andreas Tsoumanis, got to step on the floor in the last minute of the game, who all the more found the way to the basket after an assist by Sasha Vezenkov!
The quarters: 15-19, 29-40, 46-60, 67-86.
Kolossos Rhodes (Flevarakis): Mavroeidis 13, Diggs 10(1), Browning 13(1), Gibbs 5(1), Pinkston 10(1), Georgakis, Billis, Cupkovic 13(3), Papadakis, Dimakos 3.
Οlympiacos (Blatt): Bogris, Papanikolaou 6 (5 reb., 2 as.), Williams-Goss 16(2 3pm., 4 as.), Toupane 10, LeDay 11( 5reb., 2 as.), Vezenkov 10(2 3pm., 5 reb., 5 as.), Τoliopoulos 2, Μilutinov 14 (7 reb., 2 as.), Μantzaris 4 (5reb., 3 as.), Strelnieks 8 (2 3pm., 3 as.), Τsoumanis 2, Τimma 3(1)
"The mind is more important than the legs"!
David Blatt commented after the game: "It was a good, competitive game and I think my players performed well. It's really not easy to play a high level Euroleague game Thursday night, like we did, and get on the plane the next day, practice and play another game Saturday afternoon. But our players handled it really well, with maturity, professionalism and I was glad to see that. Two things are important… The way everyone approached the game and that some players who hadn't played the previous games a lot, got in and played a good game today. That's what the team needs in a season like this one. I think we shared the minutes well, so that no one stays on the floor too long. I believe that everyone that got in played with intensity and energy. That's what we want from them… As you know, some times the essence is in the mind and hearts, not in your legs… Isn't that the true for Greece also?".
As for the presence of Andreas Tsoumanis in the game, he said: "He's a kid practicing with us every day. Other young kids get to practice with us on a daily basis. It was his time to play and compete and it was great watching him entering the game and having a good moment. I wish good luck for the remainder of the season to coach Flevarakis".