Betrayed in the second half
Olympiacos did not return to winning in the Euroleague and the defeat to Zalgiris “hurt” the team even more. The Lithuanians edged the reds in the Peace and Friendship Stadium 79-61 for the 3rd day of the Euroleague.
Giorgos Bartzokas’ team had a good start against Zalgiris and seemed to control the rhythm. However, the guests did not give up and stayed close with the score at the end of the first half.
In the beginning of the second half Zalgiris took advantage of the many mistakes of the Olympiacos players and from -7 (42-35) went into the driver’s seat keeping the lead to the end of the game and reaching an easy victory that keeps them at the top of the group.
The quarters: 17-14, 39-33, 49-59, 61-79
Olympiacos (Barztokas): Hines 15, Law 1, Αntic 5, Spanoulis 10 (1), Perperoglou 2, Dorsey, Sloukas 2, Gecevicius, Printezis 12 (1), Papanikolaou 3 (1), Mantzaris 11 (2).
Zalgiris (Plaza): Darden 8, Jaaber 9 (1), Popovic 16 (3), D. Lavrinovic 9 (1), Lipkevicius, Jankunkas 3, Delas 2, Kuzminskas 4, Lafayette 10 (2), Kaukenas 8, Foot 7, Ks. Lavrinovic 3
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “It’s obvious from watching the score that we collapsed in the second half. It was fair that we lost. First because Zalgiris had rhythm throughout the game, while we played two totally different halves. I can say that up to a point, playing three important games in five days played a role. We fell short in important areas. The 22 turnovers turned the game for Zalgiris. They gave them fast breaks and easy baskets. After the victory against Caja on the road, Zalgiris showed confidence. They made big shots in the third quarter that brought us to our knees. We have a difficult road and some great games ahead of us and I hope that in the end we are going to make it.
I had said that at this point it’s different for Olympiacos not to be the outsider but rather the favorite. This takes time; it takes practice by practice, day by day. Olympiacos cannot be the favorite to win the Euroleague, no team can be the favorite this year”
About the roles of his players: “it’s a big talk. This is our job. Managing a great success is much harder than managing failure. I think that everyone should be happy from the support they’ve been getting from the team and do their best. No player is to blame, it’s rather me. A large part of the crowd applauded for us when we were leaving the gym. They show their support for the players and they know that they have tried hard despite the result”.
About Joey Dorsey: “I’ve just heard about what happened. Only those who want to play for Olympiacos should be playing and they are plenty”.
KYLE HINES: “I don’t know what happened tonight. We have to regroup from tomorrow’s practice on and improve for the future”.
GIORGOS PRINTEZIS: “It’s bad to compare last season’s team with the current one. And it’s also a mistake to say that we did not start the season well, just like we hadn’t done so last year. We have to work, find what’s wrong and correct our mistakes.
We have to bent our heads, work hard and look at the next game, we cannot stay at happened tonight. I would like to apologize from the fans, because being the Greek and European Champions actually means nothing. It’s a new season and we have to find a way and make the TOP-16”.