Armani "crashed" !

Olympiacos 'annihilated' Armani Milano at the SEF, 91-70, for the 11th day of the Euroleague and is now solely focusing on the game against Panathinaikos at the OAKA (6/12).

With five points by Kostas Papanikolaou, the 'reds' got to lead 5-0 at 3', however, the Italians took advantage of our team's bad perimeter percentages (0/9 threes in the first quarter), as well as the lack of facilitating and turned the game around (15-19 at 10'). Taylor Rochestie's presence on the floor changed the status quo… Ball movement got significantly better, Vezenkov and Paul found target from the 6.75m. and tied the score 21-21 at 11', however, the American guard got soon into foul trouble (2) and went to the bench. Armani tried to regain control through a very aggressive defense, succeeding in getting a +5 lead (30-35 at 17'). However, Olympiacos (that had zero turnovers in the second quarter), took advantage of his superiority at rebounding, found score from his frontline (Papanikolaou - Printezis - Milutinov) and with a partial score of 10-2 closed the first half leading by 3p. (40-37). In the second half, Kemzura's players played excellent defense, showed offensive pluralism - and despite many missed free throws - established the tempo, skyrocketing the difference to +26 (83-57) at 36', putting an early end to any doubts in terms of the final outcome. However, it's important to note that despite the broad difference, everyone fought up to the last second.  

* Willie Reed did not participate the 12 men final cut due to injury.

The quarters: 15-19, 40-37, 71-53, 91-70.

Οlympiacos (Κemzura): Punter 4, Rochestie 3 (2as.), Baldwin 8 , Paul 7 (2), Koniaris 5 (1), Spanoulis 14 (1 3p., 5 as.), Cherry 4, Μilutinov 13 (11 reb., 2 as., 2 st.), Vezenkov 8 (2), Printezis 4 (5 reb.), Papanikolaou 17 (2 3p., 4 reb.), Rubit 4.

Αrmani Milano (Μessina): Della Valle 3, Mack 7 (1), Μicov 11 (1), Biligha 2, Roll 9 (1), Rodriguez 14 (2), Tarczewski 3, Nedovic 12 (1), White, Brooks 4, Scola 5.

 During the game against Armani, captain Vassilis Spanoulis conquered yet another first place!!!

"All twelve gave their best"

Olympiacos coach, Kestutis Kemzura, congratulated everyone: "I'm very happy for the victory as well as about the way we played. We made some defensive mistakes in the first half that allowed easy layups for our opponent. However, in the beginning of the third quarter and generally in the second half, we played great defense and pressed where we should. It was a great feat for us to contain Armani at 70 points and 8 assists, very far from their averages. That proves we played excellent defense. One more stat that makes me happy is our dominance in rebounding. I knew that despite missing some open shots, the most important thing would be defense. Players did that and that's how we found rhythm in the open court as well as long range shooting. I'm happy because all twelve played and they all gave their best. That's not always easy to happen. Papanikolaou and Milutinov are in very good shape and do things that maybe are depicted in numbers. Spanoulis is Spanoulis! I'm happy about Koniaris, Cherry and Vezenkov, guys that get to play a lot but came forward and gave us energy. For us, this is a good sign. We also want to thank the fans, who gave us a lot of energy and help us a lot. We are happy that we made them happy ".

About the improved image of the 'reds' as well as about the derby against Panathinaikos at the OAKA, he said: "We know what we are up against, but I have said that many times. We are looking at one game at a time. I'm not that a good coach to be planning for 3 or 4 games ahead. Up to now, we had focused on Armani. Had the Euroleague ended tonight, we would be out of the playoffs, but the good thing is it doesn't, so we are still alive. I can't be talking about tactics, but I'm sure that beside them, the derby shall be decided by toughness. Everything is related. In the Euroleague, and especially in games like this one, if you are not focused, you cannot be tough. My job is that the players know what we are doing and remain focused. Then we are bringing in toughness and power. I can't promise that we are going to beat Panathinaikos. Maybe I'm a bad coach. But I can promise that we are going to be fighting from the beginning to the end and we are going to prepare the best we can".

When asked if the fact that he got to sit for a lot of time instead being on his feet during the game, was due to him being certain about the victory, he replied: "I try to be calm and focused on the game. I want to be next to my associates and listen to them and talk. It's not always easy though".

He was then asked to assess the percentage of his philosophy assimilated by his players. "I cannot give you numbers. It's a daily process, first at practice and then at games. We have a connection to the past with Spanoulis, Printezis or Milutinov. Now players like Koniaris are trying to get in. Whatever is not broken, we want to utilize. Another duo that is a real good fit is Rochestie and Baldwin. But we need to find a way to use Cherry and Punter. Tonight, we got things and energy from Vezenkov. There is a base but we are a new team. It takes a lot of time to make a champion team, but I don't like looking that far ahead".

Finally, asked if speculation about Olympiacos is not going to make the playoffs gets to him, he said: "I don't know if my players listen to this stuff or read about it. I don't pay attention to social media. I don't need to hear anyone else, I know if I'm doing a bad job. When my team does not play right, it's my fault and I can't sleep. I'm the one to suffer. When you win, everything is ok, when you lose, it's hard. Criticism is not bad, if it's constructive. It's not a pleasant thing to listen to, but if it helps you evolve, then it's a positive thing".

Armani's coach, Ettore Messina, commented: "Congratulations to Olympiacos and to coach Kemzura, Vassilis and all the Olympiacos team for an excellent performance, especially in the second half. If I'm not mistaken, we were trailing by 1 after the first possession in the third quarter, but we blacked out from that point on. We have to analyze why this happened and move on. Olympiacos played hard, disciplined and coherently. We had none of these three virtues, contrary to what we had showed in previous games. It's still early in the season and there are many unexpected results. Definitely though, Olympiacos showed character and toughness. We didn't show either, but I can't say that we lack these elements, because we showed to have them in previous games. Tonight though, when Olympiacos upped the intensity, we disappeared from the court".