A great opportunity missed in Kaunas
Olympiacos lost to Zalgiris in Lithuania 79-81 for the 21st round of the Euroleague – in a game that had seemed to be in his grasp.
With back to back threes, the ‘reds’ got to lead with +7 (72-79) 3:11’’ before the end, however, not only they failed to score in the remaining time, but Walkup succeeded to write the final 81-79 almost at the buzzer with a steal and a lay-up under pressure. In the remaining 0.8’’, Sloukas put the ball in for Jean-Charles who, however, failed to score.
The inability of the ‘reds’ to score, combined to gaps in their defense and the good percentages of the hosts from the perimeter, resulted in Zalgiris setting the rhythm and leading 13-6 (at 5’). Next, the Olympiacos players found target from the 6.75m. (19-17), however, due to their poor defensive operation, they allowed the Lithuanian team to steadily maintain the lead (36-29 at 13’).
The “short” line-up chosen by Giorgos Bartzokas (with Jean-Charles at “5”, Printezis at “4”, Vezenkov at “3”, McKissic at “2” and Spanoulis at “1”), worked very well not only in offense, but also in defense. Olympiacos attacked back and with a 8-0 streak got to lead for the first time in the game (36-38 at 17’). With Printezis, our team won a +3 lead (40-43), but the Lithuanians replied with a partial 5-0 and closed the fist part leading 45-44, since McKissic had 1 for 2 free throws, while, despite the consecutive offensive rebounds grabbed by our team, Olympiacos did not succeed to score.
At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, the two teams were going one for one in scoring up until 24’ (52-52), but Zalgiris succeeded, thanks to Lauvergne’s dominant performance under the rim, to get a +7 lead (61-54 at 28’). The Lithuanians steadily remained at the driver’s seat (67-60 at 31’), however, Olympiacos put a lot of pressure when in defense, opened fire from the 6.75m. (with Printezis, Vezenkov and Spanoulis scoring 5 threes during that time) and hence was leading 72-79, with 3:11 to the end… However, the ‘reds’ weren’t able to successfully manage the advantage at hand and lost at the buzzer.
The quarters: 26-20, 45-44, 63-60, 81-79.
«We did everything in our power to lose»
The coach of Olympiacos, Giorgos Bartzokas, said about the game: “It was a bad loss for us. Especially given how we played in the second part. We were patient, we found many open shots, we had a seven point lead in the last two minutes and then did all in our power to lose the game. We missed lay-ups under the basket and exactly afterwards, Zalgiris struck at the transition. We also lost the last possession and our opponent scored a buzzer beater. So, it was clearly our fault. We had all our experienced players on the floor to manage the situation, but unfortunately for us, Zalgiris won the game and I congratulate them for it”.
Asked why he protested the officials following Walkup’s steal and eventual basket, he replied: “Zalgiris’ bench ordered the players to foul and they tried to do so because they still weren’t in the free throw’s bonus line. They tried to foul on Sloukas. That’s why I protested. They were trying, they were pushing him. It was a bench directive, because Zalgiris had three team fouls”.
When asked to take a position and say if Olympiacos’ guard was fouled, he said: “That’s not my job. That’s the refs’ job”.
On whether he thinks the two losses to Zalgiris to be the most disappointing ones of the season, he commented: “Not exactly… You win and lose games due to a decision. Unfortunately for us, we were leading in both games. An offensive rebound by Jakubaitis and two free throws gave them the win the first round and you saw how they won tonight. A game we thought that we could win and had to win. But, that’s basketball. We should have done some things better in both games”.
Finally, on whether he’s happy about Olympiacos having contained Grigonis, he said: “I can’t be happy when we have lost and all the more, in this way. There’s no joyful feeling from this game. We tried to play defense with switching at every screen on the ball or on screens away from the ball, to slow down the rhythm and Zalgiris’ facilitation. That our plan had been”.