Premiere with a defeat
Olympiacos began the finals on a left foot.
The ‘reds’ lost to Panathinaikos in the details (75-70) paying for the stress they were experiencing from the beginning of the game, something that Dusan Ivkovic commented upon during the Press Conference.
Τhe quarters: 21-15, 35-34, 51-56, 70-75
Per quarter: 21-15, 14-19, 16-22, 19-19
Olympiacos (Ivkovic): Papaloukas 9(1), Gordon 7(1), Spanoulis 12(1), Printezis 2, Bourousis 14, Κeselj, Μavrokefalides 8, Halperin, Papanikolaou, Erceg 4(1), Τeodosic 14(2).
Panathinaikos (Οbradovic): Τepic 4, Maric 14, Batiste 13, Fotsis 5(1), Sato 4, Nikolas 4, Τsartsaris, Diamantides 21(1), Vougioukas 2, Calathes 6, Kaimakoglou 2.
DUSAN IVKOVIC: “Good evening everyone. It was a tough, very tough game, just like the previous ones. Panathinaikos had wanted the victory more than us for us; they were the better team tonight and a tough opponent. They had a 58% in two point shots against a 38% of ours, a very low percentage for my team, while we only got eleven offensive rebounds, which means we lacked the will. We tried, but did not make it. We received some very easy baskets from Panathinaikos, Maric scored 14 points out of these baskets. We actually lost controlled, that is we lost the chance to organize the game better, while we did not even find rhythm. Fotsis’ 3-pointer and a rebound decided the game and he made the shot with no one guarding him. Panathinaikos beat us fairly and we have two days to prepare the game”.
LOUKAS MAVROKEFALIDES: “Nothing is over. Panathinaikos won the first game absolutely fairly. They deserved the victory. We have to hold our heads up and aim for the second game”
ZELIMIR OBRADOVIC: “It was a game much alike the three previous ones. Both teams were obviously nervous. We had been nervous in the beginning of the game and made a lot of mistakes. Olympiacos good defense was also a factor there. The winner was once again decided in the last two minutes and it’s going to be a very interesting series”, the Serb coach said before adding: “Congratulations once again on the atmosphere in the gym. I’m asking from our fans to create a similar atmosphere in OAKA”.
ΚOSTAS KAIMAKOGLOU: “Tonight’s game was the most critical one. It was a tough game, we managed to get an important victory and make the break. But we haven’t accomplished anything yet. It takes three victories to get us the championship. Olympiacos beat us in our home court in the regular season and that game should be a warning bell for us”.