Home loss against Fenerbahce
Olympiacos was defeated at the SEF against Fenerbahce (87-96), for the 17th day of the Euroelague. During said game, Vassilis Spanoulis made history, since with the 14 points he scored, he surpassed Juan Carlos Navarro and became the Leading scorer of the competition!
Olympiacos made a strong start in the game and led 8-3. However, with Kostas Sloukas leading their offense, the guests took advantage of the defensive gaps in our defensive line, balanced the game and with a 'mad' shot Sloukas made from the jump-ball, they got to close the first quarter leading 20-22.
Kestutis Kemzura 'shuffled' the deck, but the 'reds' were unable to find rhythm on either end of the floor. On the contrary, Fenerbahce continued executing with incredible percentages from the three point line (10/14 in the first half) and with Nando De Colo taking the baton in regard to scoring, they got to 'build' a +12 margin (40-52 at 20').
Steadily relying on its perimeter, Fenerbahce increased the distance even further (19p., 42-61 at 23'). With pressing defense and using the fast break as a weapon, Olympiacos attacked back and with a partial 19-4 closed in at 4p. (61-65 at 28'). At that point though, Nando De Colo took over once again, "bombarding" the red basket from the 6.75m arc and gave Fenerbahce complete control of the game back (66-84 at 34'). Kemzura's players tried for the come back (87-94 with 40'' on the clock), but it proved to be too late…
It's worth noting that the historical three with which Vassilis Spanoulis became the top scorer of the Euroleague, was scored at 38' (80-90) and the game was momentarily interrupted in honor of the event and so that relevant announcements could be made.
The quarters: 20-22, 40-52, 61-74, 87-96.
Οlympiacos (Κemzura): Rochestie 2, Baldwin, Paul 11 (1), Spanoulis 14 (2 3p., 8 as.), Cherry 10 (2 3p., 4 reb., 3 as., 1 st.), Μilutinov 11 (7 reb), Vezenkov, Printezis 14 (1 3p., 6 reb., 2 as.), Papanikolaou 11 (2), Rubit 4 (5 reb.), Reed 10.
Fenerbahce (Οbradovic): Westermann 6 (2), Μahmutoglu 8(2), Kalinic 6 (1), Sloukas 14 (2), De Colo 32 (5), Williams 13 (1), Datome 15 (3), Τhomas 2.
The record and the responsibility
Kestutis Kemzura stated: "I'll start with something positive. Congratulations to Vassilis Spanoulis for his record. What he has done is extraordinary. It's something special. It's the result of hard team work. It's a huge accomplishment. From there on, congrats to Fenerbahce. They were more ready; they played better and deserved to win. The second quarter was the key, because we didn't perform well in defense, we were allowing them open shots. Yes, they had an incredible night tonight, but, when you leave them open to shoot they are going to make their shots. We did nothing to stop them. We changed some defensive plays, however, sometimes, it's not about tactics. You need to fight more, to break the screens, to have better communication and guard your opponent. I take the responsibility, I didn't do a good job to prepare them and demand they do the things we need on the floor. They also 'killed' us with secondary offenses; they scored 20 points following offensive rebounds. However, I can't claim responsibility for that, I can't box out. It's either us or them. If you take a look at the stats, only two of our players have offensive rebounds, Milutinov and Rubit. For me, this is a defining moment. We knew we have had problems in the past that we weren't able to solve, however, we need to work even harder ".
About the fact that one more guard, Nando De Colo, did a lot of damage to the 'reds', he commented: "We made a very good beginning and he scored his first two threes in the fast break following our turnovers. The problem began when some players came on the floor from the bench. We know our limitations, but that's what we have and it's hurting us. For me, this lack of concentration is very hard to explain. Following the time out, we said that we should be switching at every screen, but, we forgot to switch next. I can't explain why this is happening. If we continue the same way, the result is always going to be the same. What I can do is continue working, continue pushing and demanding that the players execute and discipline to what we ask from them".
Asked on whether he still hopes his team can make the playoffs, the replied: "I think there is no easy schedule in the Euroleague, especially for us. Nothing is over until it's over. We are going at one game at a time. We can't change what happened tonight, but we need to correct our mistakes and fight for the next … final. We need to fight all games. We have shown in the season that we have had some very good games as well and won against some of the top teams. However, we also lost to some that we should have beaten. It still depends on us".
Finally, when asked if he's planning on making an addition, he stressed: "We haven't spoken with the administration yet. We have our eyes open, we are looking at the market, but finding a player that can really help and adjust them is no easy feat. If we find one, we are going to talk with the administration and see what happens. For now, we have no such plans".
"Spanoulis deserves it"
Zeljko Obradovic paid tribute to Vassilis Spanoulis for his historical record. "I sincerely wish to congratulate him. It's not something new, I think that everyone knows how hard he had worked and he undoubtedly deserves to be in this position". When asked to compare V-Span to Dimitris Diamantidis, he said: "Everyone knows who Spanoulis and Diamantidis are. We are talking about two of the top players in the history of the Euroleague. We don't need to say a lot more".
About the game and the importance of the road win for his team, he pointed out: "It was the first game of the year and it was very important. We have problems on our team, but we showed to have character and played a very good game. I'm really happy about the way we played, we shot exceptionally well and played a very smart game. We tried to play offensive defense, we drove Olympicos to 13 turnovers and had balance in rebounding after many games. Congrats to my players and I hope that this victory is going to be very important psychologically wise for what comes next. Some of our players are still out and I still don't know until when, but we need to keep playing like tonight. The important thing is that the fans and the administration continue having faith in us and support us. That's what gives us motivation to fight to the end, that's the only way".