Return to winning
The game against Cedevita had the characteristics of a final just before jump ball and thus it is actually how it evolved. Olympiacos was nervous and the Croatians were freed up. But in the end, it was the reds of Bartzokas that got away with a valuable victory.
The Piraeus team began the game focused and seemed to completely control the game maintaining a lead of about ten points. But legs got heavy in the beginning of the second half and the Croatians playing a zone defense and very good shooting percentages closed in and actually led.
Nevertheless, clear thinking returned to the ‘red’ camp and composure awarded them with a valuable win. Kyle Hines, Vassilis Spanoulis, Kostas Papanikolaou and the invaluable Kostas Sloukas were those that carried the Greek and European Champions to the second victory.
The quarters: 22-16, 42-35, 56-53, 79-77
Οlympiacos (Bartzokas): Hines 8, Law 8 (1), Antic, Spanoulis 21 (2 3p., 7as.), Perperoglou 2, Sloukas 10 (1), Mavroeidis, Printezis 13 (1 3p., 7reb.), Papanikolaou 14 (1), Mantzaris 3 (1)
Cedevita (Malkovic): Car 2, Wright 7, Suput 8 (1), Babic, Andric 15 (1), Suton 7, Bilan 16, Ilievski 2, Gelabale 11 (1), Green 9 (3)
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “All those that were here realized under how much pressure we’ve been playing. It was clear in the air; we had to win to be able to continue with the competition. It was obvious from the way we were shooting. Spanoulis, Antic, Printezis, Perperoglou, they all missed shots alone and that put even more pressure on us. We fought possessions and got 18 rebounds. I wish to thank the fans for pushing us.
Cedevita was closing in defensively and letting us shoot. We were missing and they were building confidence. They made crucial shots just like the last one they scored. We got the shots because the Croatians let us take them. The Olympiacos shirt is a heavy one, we have many people following the team and the players should learn to play under that kind of pressure and I think they are going to make it.
We don’t underestimate any win and the way this one came our way makes for a very important one. I have the feeling that our arms and legs are going to loosen up in the future. We are going to find balance in our game with the addition of the new player.
It’s obvious that our defense needs to improve. Every game has a different format and our opponent played a very good game. The most important thing is to stay calm and make positive assessments of situations. Of course we are not thrilled by our performance tonight, but victory is what counts. We are actually paying the price for the game against Zalgiris. Should we have lost tonight, it would be the end. Victory is the only thing that counts. No team is the favorite. If we all get forget about being a favorite and at the same time get rid of the stress this brings with it, we are going to play much better. The players have a lot more potential than what they’ve been exhibiting.
I made my suggestion because I believe in Powell. He may make a good pair with all the big guys on the team, either as a center or as power forward. He is a good person and helped every team he joined to improve. The choices hadn’t been plentiful, but I’m happy with the player we got”.
KOSTAS SLOUKAS: “I think that since everyone was on Vassilis (i.e. Spanoulis), I got the ball, I felt good and happened to make the free throws. I want to clarify that the team was under a lot of stress. Cedevita came here to play its game; we did not control the offensive rebounds and the tempo, they played their game and I want to thank the fans for their support at the end”.
KOSTAS PAPANIKOLAOU: “After the heavy defeats against Efes and Zalgiris, every match is going to be as crucial as a final. We are not going to hide; we were under a lot of stress. Of course victory should bring excitement to the locker rooms, but rather we are all unhappy and blame ourselves for the latest bad performances. We need our psychology to lift. We again made some bad offensive choices and took bad shots. We made a lot of mistakes in defense and gave up lay ups and easy baskets to their big guys. Everything will show on the floor, the work we’ve been doing is going to be there to see, no matter what we say here we can change nothing. We need to see our mistakes on video and work”.
BOZIDAR MALKOVIC: “All this is very important, but at the same time very difficult. I have ten new players, only three or four of the old roster has remained. We missed about one month of pre-season because players like Wright and Ilievski had been injured. I have young players who don’t know how to be protagonists. For the game, we knew that Olympiacos goes for the rebounds. They got 18 offensive boards. Secondly, we lost many balls in the first half without any particular reason. We are a new team, but I’m happy with my players. Congratulations to Olympiacos, I wish them luck in getting the results they need. I may have been the coach of Panathinaikos, but I mean what I’m saying”.