One hundred points and a win in Moscow!
Olympiacos returned to winning in the most impressive fashion! The ‘reds’ beat Khimki in Russia 105-88, for the 17th day of the Euroleague.
The ‘reds’ were shooting extremely well from the 6.75m. in the first quarter (5/8 threes), but their subpar defense did not allow them to ‘cash out’ their very good percentages and hence closed the first quarter leading by 3p. (23-26).
Things became even more difficult for our team, when the Russians got to also open fire from the perimeter. With Shved and Vialtsev leading the offense, Khimki turned the game and got in the driver’s seat with +8 (43-35 at 16’).
Olympiacos went on struggling in defense, however, thanks to the threes scored by Vezekov, Spanoulis and Charalampopoulos, managed to once again turn the game in their favor and get a one point lead (50-51) at the end of the first half.
The ‘reds’ also got better with their defense in the second half, the big players dominated rebounding, Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov were ‘hot’ and the difference skyrocketed at +17 (64-81) at 31’.
The Russian fought for yet another come back and closed in at 10p. (89-94) at 37’, but Kostas Sloukas was not going to miss even one free throw hence safely leading Olympiacos to a road win!
The quarters: 23-28, 50-51, 64-78, 88-105.
«Jenkins’ defense was key»
The Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, commented: “It was a very important victory for us at this particular moment. We are closing to the end of Euroleague’s first round and we have had a lot of ups and downs during that time. We have one more game to play, against Villeurbanne in France. So, it’s very important for us to close the year with a road victory against Khimki. Everyone knows I have deep respect for this team, just like for all the organization, the fans and the players. Congratulations to my players, it was a good win. As for the key to the victory, I think it was our defense in the third quarter, as well as the defense Jenkins played on Shved for 23-24 minutes. Because, for as long as Jenkins was not on the floor, Shved got to showcase his amazing talent. Jenkins was the key, but it was a team effort and I would like to give credit to everyone”.
Charles Jenkins stated: “Yes, for me defense is fun, just like it’s fun playing against Shved whom I know well and have been team mates with. I don’t want to talk about me, I think that the team did a very good group job. I simply helped with the defense. I know why I’m here. I know that defense earns me my keep. I’m not trying to build up my stats. We have many good scorers on the team. My job is to guard the best player of the opponent and if I’m open, I will take the shot as well”.