Championship in Piraeus once again
Olympiacos is once again at the Greek top. 'Thrylos' won the 11th championship title of its history edging Panathinaikos 93-74 in the third play-offs final for the SKRATS Basket League and swept the series 3-0. Vassilis Spanoulis was the top scorer with 23 points.
Olympiacos began the game with excellent defense, but there was nervousness in the offense as well as poor shooting percentages. So the first quarter closed 16-12 for the Giannis Sfairopoulos' team. The entrance of Matt Lojeski and the improvement in the performance of both Spanoulis and Printezis gave 'Thrylos' a 51-39 lead at half-time.
The Olympiacos players did not stop there, instead they continued in the same pace and in the third quarter the difference was steady at above ten points reaching +17 (75-58) at 30'.
The fans in the tribunes had created a celebratory atmosphere and everyone was expecting for the game to end for 'Thrylos' to be officially crowned the Greek Champion of 2015. The final 93-74 found everyone celebrating the title.
Τhe quarters: 16-12, 51-39, 75-58, 93-74
Οlympiacos (Giannis Sfairopoulos): Petway 5 (1), Hunter 10, Dunston 5, Spanoulis 23 (4), Darden 9, Sloukas 5 (1), Lafayette 3 (1), Lojeski 11 (2), Printezis 12, Agravanis 5 (1), Mantzaris 5 (1), Kavvadas
Panathinaikos (Sotiris Manolopoulos): Charalampopoulos, Slaughter 10 (2), Bochoridis, Jankovic 17 (3), Fotsis 11 (2), Nelson, Mavrokefalidis 14, Diamantidis 5 (1), Batista 10, Blooms, Cooper 7 (1), Morgan
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: "I was secretly hoping in the beginning that we were going to make it. Things weren't easy. It's an honor to be the coach Olympiacos, I wish to thank the Angelopoulos brothers for trusting me. It was a tough decision for them as well to trust me. We have had the home court advantage in Greece, we were undefeated in Europe, and we made an absolutely successful course. It was a very good effort from all the guys. We deserved all that we achieved this season. We won the Greek title and made the Euroleague final. We proved to be a great team, we went through a crisis due to injuries, but we endured. The guys went beyond and above themselves, we made a tremendous effort, we were always playing under pressure. The players need to be congratulated, I really tip my hat before them. The character that we have been building is not to ever give up. This cannot be the case at all times, but I want us to fight to the end. Not to relax for a minute, to maintain margins. That's what I asked of them tonight as well. We have witnessed a lot in regard to basketball. We remained focused to the end and got a totally fair and deserving victory. We played better than Panathinaikos during the whole series, we were the best team in Greece and it was only deserving to win the title. It’s early to talk about the future. These moments are historical, Olympiacos is once again the Champion after three years. It's important that the whole team, the whole organization works with consistency, I ought to thank everyone, everyone working here. I wish to thank the administration and we all dedicate this title to the Presidents and the Olympiacos fans. Congratulations to everyone and to the people that work for the team in the front office. Everyone shares this success. The biggest share belongs to the players that give their best every time».
TREMMELL DARDEN : "I don't know if I stopped Diamantidis, but our goal was to win the championship. We lost the Euroleague final and that made us all the more determined. We knew that the championship was very important for the club. I am thankful to be part of it" the American forward said in the beginning adding: "In general, winning the championship in Greece against Panathinaikos is more important to winning the Euroleague. It was God's will for me to come to Olympiacos and be crowned the Champion. There is no secret, I just play more aggressively and take advantage of opportunities. I do whatever the team needs me to do. Playing aggressively is not just scoring".