A loss to Panathinaikos at the SEF
Olympiacos stayed far from its true potential and lost at the SEF to Panathinaikos 77-88, for the 24th round of the Euroleague.
Bad choices and gaps in the defense allowed the guest to be leading by 10 at 6’ (7-17). Despite the lost battle for the rebounds (4-11 in the first quarter), Olympiacos succeeded in coming close to one point (18-19 at 9’), mainly thanks to perimeter shooting.
The ‘greens’ maintained a steady lead (28-29 at 15’), taking advantage of their good percentages from the free throw line (they had 13/13 in the first half, against 5/8 for our team), but also their dominating rebounding (9-17), they got to increase their distance to +8 (30-38 at 18’). The ‘reds’ reacted though. They put pressure in the defense and with Shaquielle McKissic once again in a leading role, the closed in to 3p. (35-38) at the end of the first half.
Olympiacos’ lack of facilitation, turnovers, plus the good perimeter percentages of Panathinaikos resulted in the guests regaining complete control (44-57 at 27’). With Shaquielle McKissic and Hassan Martin in the spotlight, our team run a partial 10-0 (54-59 at 29’), while at 32’, Giannoulis Larentzakis scored to make for a two point game (59-61).
However, unforced turnovers and lost rebounds, allowed the ‘greens’ to run a partial 7-0 (59-68) in less than a minute! Our team tried for yet another come back, closing in at 72-77 at 38’, but Panathinaikos took advantage of his sweeping dominance of rebounding (19-38), found solutions with White, Mitoglou and Sant Roos and got a comfortable victory.
The quarters: 18-21, 35-38, 54-61, 77-88.
"We deserved nothing better"
The coach of Olympiacos, Giorgos Bartzokas, pointed out: “Obviously, it’s a very bad night for us. The expectations for our team’s performance by everyone, the fans, me, were much higher than what we brought on the floor. Our performance was extremely poor, especially in the defense. We came in very placid and allowed our opponent almost everything, so players like Sant-Roos and Bochoridis gained confidence from it. They played really well and deserved to win. We deserved nothing better from this game. We need to think, work hard, change our approach and get better. This is the only thing we can do”.
Asked whether the ‘reds’ bad start gave Panathinaikos confidence that was imprinted in the 25/25 free throws for the ‘greens’, he replied: “Of course. When the game starts and everything they think about executing, they can do with ease. That’s why I talked about confidence earlier. They shot 25/25 free throws, Sant-Roos made four threes and I’m not one to believe in luck. Panathinaikos wasn’t lucky. I think that the way Olympiacos was playing, both in execution and defense, allowed Panathinaikos to play their game. We knew that our opponent would go for a tall line up switching in every screen, hence wishing to stop ball movement. And although we knew that and had worked on it, we went to an unprecedented over dribbling, each time looking for the miss match, while we simply had to move the ball and aim to attack the weak side. This was a huge surprise, even to me”.
About what it is he needs to ‘pass’ to the team now that hopes for qualification are significantly reduced, he said: “Work never stops with basketball. There are some really tough night when you have to maintain your mental and psychological strengths. I’m not talking about myself, but rather for everyone else. For me, that’s my job anyway. I have gone through some very tough situations. We are not forgetting that we have made some big wins and played some very good games, however, tonight we were really below expectations and that doesn’t only have to do with how the opponent has played or how we were shooting. It has to do with how we prepare for the game mentally. We need to understand what it takes to win these kind of games. It is that often talent is not enough. We need to be compact. Tonight we saw that nowhere, neither in offense or in defense. We tried to play as individuals. Even with defense, we had the same approach. I did not watch a team where one player was playing for the others. I don’t know if it’s the stress, because we are under a lot of pressure, since we have to marginally win to make the playoffs. And I’m also wondering about our level. Are we at that level when we made those big wins and performances on the road, or at the one of poor performances at home where we did not meet expectations? This is an assessment to be made after the completion of the season. Maybe now we have some players that ‘bend’ under pressure. Olympiacos is pressure only. Olympiacos, for anyone who has lived the experience and knows, equals pressure. If some players cannot perform under pressure, well, this is an issue”.
with official games at the end of April, he said: “If Olympiacos has no other games at the end of April, it’s because the Board has made a decision in the past that absolutely backs. It means, that there are 18 Euroleague teams and should Olympiacos fails to qualify, then there is no competition to participate. This is a decision that has been made and has both costs and gains… It’s not the time to analyze it. The coach’s work does not stop, you all know that. We are in no mood to think about April right now. We are always thinking about the next game and this not going to change even after a big loss like tonight’s. We were not ready for the game, Panathinaikos proved to be ready and that’s all it is. We have to analyze why, become tough with some players because that’s how it needs to be and test this team’s limitations. Olympiacos is rebuilding. I have said before that we may be having some very experienced players, however, it’s practically a team built only this season. I can’t remember any Euroleague team that played with nine new players on the roster and won goals”.