Written on 16 September 2020. Posted in Games.

Preseason Tour Valencia: Villeurbanne - Olympiacos BC 74-57

Olympiacos lost to Villeurbanne 57-74 in the «We're Back - Preseason Tour Valencia» premiere.

The ‘reds’ made a strong beginning in the game and with Sloukas and Printezis were leading 0-6 at 3’. However, the French were quick to respond… They put pressure in defense, found target from the perimeter and with a partial 12-2 got ahead 12-8 at 6’.

The game was balanced, with Villeurbanne nevertheless maintaining a small lead up until half way of the 2^nd quarter (21-20). However, turnover, bad offensive choices and lost rebounds allowed the typical hosts to close the first half leading by 7 (32-25) and find themselves at +12 (40-28) at 22’.

Bartzokas’ players improved their defense, moved the ball and closed in at 6 points (45-39), but T.J. Parker’s players maintained excellent percentages from the 6.75m. arc, increased the margin to +13 (60-47) at 32’ and reached a comfortable victory (74-57).

QUOTES

The Olympiacos’ head coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, pointed out: “Following a long period without any high level games, which applies to all teams, we are trying to ‘build’ our new team with nine new players. Today’s game was a great opportunity to see the level we are at his particular moment. We performed ‘poorly’. I can’t separate defense from offense. We shot 7% from the three point line, only 1 in 14, and we missed so many despite some of them totally unguarded. We also made a lot of turnovers, a total of 15. That’s a huge number at this level, if you want to remain competitive. We need to protect the ball above all else and then play with more confidence in order to find one another on the floor. We need to be more aggressive in defense, because the game in the Euroleague is very physical. We need to play with the same aggressiveness and toughness. We need to improve a lot, however, at the same time, I wasn’t expecting something more from our defense. It’s always this way… It’s a tough job, everything is tough at this level and we need to take it one practice at a time, one game at a time, to improve as a team”.

On his part, Hassan Martin commented: “It was our first tough game. We obviously have a lot to work on both ends of the floor. We are in the process of building the team. It’s a long season and we need a lot more work to do”.

Finally, the coach of the French team, T.J. Parker, commented: “Above all else, we are satisfied with our defensive effort. We did a really good job. Our main goal in offense is to move the ball correctly and pass along and the guys did that today”.

The quarters: 14-12, 32-25, 55-45, 74-57.