Loss after a bad performance
Olympiacos lost its second game in row for the Euroleague TOP16 and now has a 2-2 record. Zalgiris Kaunas was better and got the 75-55 victory.
Olympiacos went to Kaunas to react to a bad loss and performance against Bamberg, but instead of reacting, the players of Giannis Sfairopoulos showed an even worse face from what they had showed against the Germans and lost 75-55.
THE DEFENSE: Considering it was a road game, receiving 75 points from a team like Zalgiris Kaunas, one can argue that they are not too many. When, however, we are talking about the best defense in Europe and a team that was on a 0-2 record for the Euroleague TOP-16, 75 points are just that, too many. All the more, the poor defense by the Piraeus players had an impact on their offensive game as well.
THE OFFENSE: Olympiacos played its worse game offense wise in the Sfairopoulos era. The players were nervous, shooting poorly throughout the game, making all the wrong choices and thus barely scoring 55 points.
THE MVP: No one from the team can claim the title in such a game.
KEEPING, FORGETTING: Nothing to keep from that game. Only the fact that everyone in the group has lost games and nothing is decided yet. Certainly forgetting the second consecutive loss plus bad performance.
THE POINTS
The quarters: 17-18, 33-27, 53-45, 75-55
Ζalgiris (Jasikevicius): Vene, Lekavicius 7, Pocius 2, Kalnietis 2, Seibutis 11 (1), Motum 9, Jankunas 18, Vougioukas 13, Sajus, Hanlan 2, Ulanovas 11 (1).
Οlympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Johnson-Odom 11 (1), Hunter 8, Papapetrou 5 (1), Spanoulis 6, Strawberry 3 (1), Milutinov 4, Printezis 7 (1), Agravanis, Mantzaris 4 (1), Hackett 7.
THE QUOTES
GIANNIS SFAIROPOULOS: «I would like to congratulate Zalgiris Kaunas, they deserved to win and they played much better than we did. They were ‘hungrier’ for the victory and beat us easily. We played far away from our usual standards tonight, I need to have a talk with my players because we cannot continue that way. Congratulations to Zalgiris for the victory. They played very good defense, but we also missed free throws, many open shots and had a very bad day offensively. Not being able to score hurt us on both ends of the floor”.
DARIUS JOHNSON-ODOM: «Our opponents played with a lot of energy and heart, proved that they really wanted to win the game and I don’t think we need to comment on anything else. That was the key according to my opinion”.
SARUNAS JASIKEVICIUS: «One certainly cannot expect for something like that to happen. But, I think we have had a plan, which we executed. We got lucky at certain point, but we were also very good at parts of the game. That’s how it goes. It was incredible! You always want to play in this Arena with such a crowd. It was a tremendous feeling and that’s why I want to congratulate both the players and the fans. You never want to lose a true Zalgiris kid like Kalnietis, that’s why we are sad. But he needs to move ahead and that’s what we also need to do”.
MANTAS KALNIETIS: «It wasn’t easy for me, because I knew I was leaving after the game. I tried not to think about it, since I still was a player for Zalgiris. I’m very happy to be leaving at a good time frame. I believe that this victory will inspire the whole team for what comes next. My decision will benefit both parties. I, like many of our fans, was sad tonight, but I didn’t want to let it show. Armani’s offer was good for the team. I have many feelings for the team here, but I need to move forward. Feelings will always be there, but teams make changes every year”.