A winner in Kifissia
Olympiacos faced no resistance from Nea Kifissia edging them 75-67 for the 25th day of the A1 League.
Our team began the game with Giorgi Shermadini dominating both courts. The Georgian center finished most of his offensive plays and thus ‘Thrylos’ took a 13-17 lead. During the last two minutes however, lack of concentration in defense and not so right choices in the offense allowed the hosts to take a 20-17 lead.
The team of Giorgos Bartzokas came into the second quarter determined not to allow the hosts any dreams. So, with a partial 12-2, the ‘reds’ had a 7 point game (22-29) and led by ten for the first time (22-32) to finish the quarter with the Piraeus team leading 31-38.
In the beginning of the second quarter, the hosts ran a partial 10-3 streak and tied the game at 41 points, but immediately after that, Olympiacos stepped on the gas pedal and with Collins, Printezis and Perperoglou offering offensive solutions the difference once again climbed two digit levels with the third quarter ending with ‘Thrylos’ leading 48-57.
Nea Kifissia once again attempted a come-back in the last quarter, but the players of Giorgos Bartzokas had answers for every move the hosts were making while the Piraeus players built a spectacular 53-65 by 34’. The guests easily maintained the lead and got a 67-75 victory.
The quarters: 20-17, 31-38, 48-57, 67-75.
Nea Kifissia (Papatheodorou): Vasilievic 5, Liakopoulos 7, Kompodietas 5 (1), Sioutis 1, Psathas 6, Peterson 2, Petrodimopoulos 6, Woods 4, Tsaldaris 2, Kakiouzis 8 (1), Barlos 18 (2).
Olympiacos (Bartzokas): Petway 3 (1), Shermadini 13 (5reb), Perperoglou 10 (2), Papapetrou 6 (1), Christodoulou, Collins 7 (7reb, 6as, 2st), Simmons 5 (2bl), Lojeski 4, Printezis 15 (2 3p, 7reb, 2as), Mantzaris 4 (1), Kavvadas 8 (5reb), Katsivelis.
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “We played against one of the best teams of the Greek League with experienced players that very well know how to control a situation. We tried to open up the rotation and use players that were not playing in the Euroleague. We have great respect for Kifissia and its course this season. We wish them all the best” the Olympiacos coach originally said.
Next, the 48 year old coach said that “we are going to have to try to adjust to the Greek reality. Nea Kifissia was probably out of rhythm due to the break in the League. Our goal is that all our young players take up their level of concentration and then we are all going to be in a good path”.
Giorgos Bartzokas said about Giorgi Shermadini that “we kept him out in case of a last minute emergency. Being out for such a long time did not help him into finding rhythm. He’s a good player and he’s going to help us in the long run”.
ELIAS PAPATHEODOROU: “Congratulations to Olympiacos for their effort with the Euroleague. They opened the rotation up quite a lot today, but they still controlled the tempo. We were out of rhythm due to the break. This did not allow us to remain competitive. Each time we were getting closer to the score, Olympiacos was managing the situation correctly. I hope we win Saturday and get the fifth place. I don’t know how the opponent managed playing against Real Madrid every two days. It’s inhumane”.
MARDY COLLINS: “It was tough for us. However, we had energy in our game, we moved the ball, played good defense, we of course made some mistakes as well, but we only had so many days to prepare. Nevertheless, I think our performance was good overall. We now need to work on some aspects of our game in view of the play-offs”.
NIKOS BARLOS: “Olympiacos came here with some important absences. Their fatigue from participating the Euroleague was counter-measured by our lack of energy due to the break. We were kind of numb in the beginning but we tried to balance the game. We are greatly motivated and we are going to prove it. We still have goals. We want to advance as much as possible with the play-offs”.
VASSILIS KAVVADAS: “We did not think of the game as a friendly one. We came here to fight and get the victory. We had one very strong practice and we did it. We have been working various systems, and we try everything to find what fits us the best. However, there’s still a lot of time till the finals and we don’t need to talk about it now”.