Important victory against Armani!
Olympiacos bested Armani Milano 86-75 at the SEF, for the 3rd round of the Euroleague. Our team will next be facing Maccabi Tel Aviv, who we will be hosting on Friday (16/10, 20.00 CET).
Relying on good shooting from the perimeter, as well as frequent visits to the free throw line, the Italians closed the first quarter leading by 3 (21-18), with Giorgos Printezis keeping Olympiacos in the game during that time. Giorgos Bartzokas ‘shuffled the deck’, the ‘reds’ got to lead with a three by Spanoulis (23-21 at 11’), but bad decisions in the offense, turnovers and the good shooting percentages of the guests, allowed Armani Milano to lead with 8 points for the first time (34-42). Giorgos Printezis wrote the final score of the half-time (36-42) almost at the buzzer.
The guests maintained their distance up to 23’ (40-48), however Olympiacos reacted. Playing good defense and with Shaquielle McKIssic and Kostas Sloukas leading, the ‘reds’ run a partial 19-5 and turned the tables, managing to lead with +6 (59-53). A barrage of threes (by Harrison, Sloukas and Jenkins) and with Hassan Martin dominating the post, the ‘reds’ increased the lead to +12 (79-67) at 37’. Armani closed in at 6 points shooting from the three point arc (79-73 at 38’), however the Bartzokas’ players maintained their composure and using their good defensive game to their advantage sealed the win.
The quarters: 18-21, 36-42, 63-58, 86-75.
"We played as a team"
Defense was the key to the victory according to the Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas. “It was a very tough game. It was also a very huge challenge for us, because we had to weigh our strength against Armani. They had been undefeated until tonight’s game and of course they have a lot of talent and experience. In the first twenty minutes we were really hesitant and indecisive. We made ten turnovers and were nervous. We talked during the half time break about what we had to do and we finally ended the game with twenty assists, with only two turnovers in the second half and none in the last quarter. Our defense was absolutely solid and we got the victory. But, like with every other game, we need to immediately forget about it, because we have one more difficult game at home in only two days and we need to focus on that”.
He went on to say that: “Our defense was much better in the second half. In the first one, we had slow reactions with screens away from the ball, resulting in players like Shields, Delaney , Roll and Rodriguez taking the lead in a two against two game. We had to have been better in all our defensive plays and screens away from the ball. If you ask me about what has changed, it’s that our team has many guys who are nervous at the beginning of a game, because they don’t have experience in that level, they are acquiring some now. So, when this pressure leaves them they can have a better feel of the game. The fact that McKissic made two fouls really early in the game did not help us, because he’s a player that can play vertically and he was off the game. Harrison was extremely hesitant in the first half, in the second one though that changed and he was very good. We generally played as a team, moved the ball, found open players and won. Each team at this level needs to be playing good defense. As you can see there are teams that sign expensive players that don’t have impressive numbers in the offense, but are really important at back court. We have made some signings of the kind, that have been really helpful to us. To become a team, you need to go through difficult situations. Face good players, good tactical teams and gradually become a good team through friction. There is no other way. We need to be consistent. I think that if we succeed in having more consistent minutes in the beginning, we are going to become a better team given our offensive and defensive principles”.
Asked about the performance of the big players, Hassan Martin and Octavius Ellis, he replied: “I don’t know if there’s a discussion on the matter. I never had any doubts. I’ve been clear from the start. You should know that the first sign we made was Martin. I’m absolutely happy from their effort and I think that they have a lot of room for improvement. They are only going to be getting better. I never see basketball as a match up between Hines and Martin. I also don’t think they have the same player characteristics. There might be some comparison due to similar body types. They are both very strong. Martin mostly reminds me of Dunston or Hunter or Birch that we had in the past. Hines is a very special player, obviously extremely important to all the teams he has played for. There have been comparisons because public opinion always likes to engage in them”.
When asked to comment on the very good performance of Kostas Sloukas, he said: “The same goes for Sloukas. We all remember that he had been with our team in the past, but there are many new players. For Kostas to find exactly what he needs to be doing with this team and play a completely different style of basketball than what he used to be playing with his former team, it’s going to take time. The kind of basketball we play is different, totally different teams and totally different budgets. At this moment, he needs to be doing other things and Kostas will need time to find his footing. It’s just that people are saying that he would adjust immediately because he had been here in the past. But this is not true for me. He also needs time to adjust, having played a different type of basketball for five years”.
Finally, about the Euroleague’s decision to abolish the 20-0 rule, he pointed out: “There’s no one disagreeing. It’s a move to the right direction. It’s not fair for some teams that have a certain budget and some owners that spend large amounts. As you know, basketball has no reciprocity. Also, there’s the effort put by coaches and players. Think how unfair that would be for Zenit. For instance, Villeurbanne has had two games against Panathinaikos and Red Star and their record would be 0-4. What kind of season can you expect after that? It was not fair. I would say the same even if the result was for us. I think that all teams said they want to play and that’s an honor. Basketball has a common direction in that aspect. Games should be decided on the floor, despite the tremendous difficulties the pandemic is causing”.
On his part, the coach of Armani Milano, Ettore Messina, stated: “Congratulations to Olympiacos. They deserved the victory, they played a very good second half. The game was decided in the second half. Olympiacos was very good offensively. We did not play our usual defense, we allowed them to score easy points and come into our post. That’s how they got the difference and the win. We need to leave this behind us and move on. I will watch the video of the game and see what happened, right now I cannot tell you what went wrong exactly, I’m not that smart…”