‘Thrylos’, the majestic...
Olympiacos played as the European Champion should have against Anadolou Efes and not only beat the Turks, but also proved that the first round defeat was just an unlucky result.
The ‘reds’ edged Efes 75-53 under the leadership of Law, Spanoulis and Papanikolaou.
The team of Giorgos Barztokas was trailing at the beginning of the game, but using some excellent defense later on succeeded the upset. Olympiacos gained control of the game and closed the first half leading by 9.
At the beginning of the second half, the Turks made their counter attack and closed in at four points, but that was as far as they could go. Olympiacos once again resumed control and was at the end of the game only a breath away from covering for the difference of the first round defeat.
The final 75-53 brings Olympiacos only a step away from TOP-16 and in a power position to conquer of the group’s second place.
The quarters: 23-20, 35-26, 59-42, 75-53
Οlympiacos (Bartzokas): Hines 6 (6reb.), Law 10 (1), Αntic 5 (1), Spanoulis 14 (1 3p., 5 reb., 4 as.), Perperoglou 9 (1), Sloukas 4, Mavroeidis, Powell 2, Printezis 8 (7reb.), Papanikolaou 17 (4 3p., 6reb.), Mantzaris.
Εfes (Mahmouti): Farmar 6, Vujacic 8 (1), Batuk, Erden 8, Tunceri, Shipp, Gonlum 6, Savanovic 5, Lucas 15 (1), Kuqo 2, Guler 2, Barac 1.
GIORGOS BARTZOKAS: “It was a convincing performance and an important victory, both ranking and psychologically wise. It all started with how we defended the game, with the exception of the first quarter. We managed to contain Efes, when in the first game they had scored 7/7 threes only in the first quarter. We played a very good defense, both as a team and individually. We had been kind of hesitant in the offense, but our performance in general has been very good. Congratulations to the guys, they have won four games in a row and showed what they are worth. We are a really good team, if anyone had any doubts. Congratulations to the fans, they encouraged the team from the beginning to the end, I hope they are happy with us”.
About the secret for Olympiacos’ success: “You have to have defense as your starting point to be successful. We haven’t even completed 1/3 of the season; we have a lot of room for improvement yet. The most important thing for Olympiacos is for every player that comes on the floor to be 100% ready to contribute. They should all be ready, the expectations are high and demands are even higher”.
About Vangelis Mantzaris: “Last season, he has had the most minutes following Spanoulis. For his age and experience, the amazing concentration he exhibits is a major advantage. He’s also very selfless. All great teams are built on that kind of players. Anadolou Efes is a lesser team without Gordon, despite the great names in their roster and the NBAers with it”.
STRATOS PERPEROGLOU: “A lot of things have changed in the team and we have been playing very well in the last games while we also have large periods of good performance in each one of them. Defense has been the key to success. We played very strong defense and contained Efes’ assets, and that’s why we managed to easily beat a strong team”, was what Stratos Perperoglou had originally to say.
About not covering for the difference of the first game: “We shouldn’t be making that kind of estimations. We are looking at one game at a time, in order to have the best possible performance in the games to come”.
About what has changed from the first game in Istanbul until now: “What has happened is that we have all realized that we should be sacrificing our bodies in defense, because that’s where it all starts”.
JOSH POWELL: “Defense has given us the victory. All the players showed great will in that part of the game and helped with the rebounds. They all played very well and we managed to get the victory”.
About not covering for the difference of the first game: “I’m still learning the team and when I was told about it, I was wondering what that exactly meant, because this is something totally new to me. We tried to cover for it, but we weren’t successful doing so. The important thing is that we beat a good team with a wide score margin”.