The derby goes to the ‘reds’!
Olympiacos beat Panathinaikos at the SEF 81-78, for the 27th day of the Euroleague.
The ‘reds’ got to lead 12-4 at 4’, however, Panathinaikos took advantage of defensive gaps and poor offensive choices by the hosts and running a partial 8-0 tied the score at 12 points (6’). The mostly unforced turnovers (a total of 7 in the first half) of our team, allowed the guests to take a +6 lead (18-24). However, the defensive pressure by Olympiacos, combined to its perimeter good percentages (7/12 threes at 20’, against 0/10 for Panathinaikos), gave back control to the ‘reds’ and the first half ended 45-39.
In the second half, the players of Giorgos Bartzokas maintained a steady lead (63-55 at 28’) and despite Panathinaikos’ effort to ‘strike’ in the post (where they maintained an advantage due to the absence of Nikola Milutinov who suffers an injury, as well as the fact that Octavius Ellis was benched at 25’ with 3 fouls), they succeeded in controlling the game (65-59 at 30’).
A scoreless four minute period followed for the ‘reds’, during which time the ‘greens’ tied the score (65-65 at 34’) and the game became a first class derby. With their first three (scored by Calathes and following 17 failed attempts!) at 37’, Panathinaikos tied the score 70-70. Shaquielle McKissic and Kostas Papanikoalou gave the ‘reds’ a 4 point berth (80-76, 19.4’’ before the buzzer). Papagiannis made both his free throws next (80-78) and with one out of two free throws, Papanikolaou wrote the final 81-78 (with 8.2’’ to the end). Thomas’ attempt at a three during the last offensive play of the ‘greens’ failed and Taylor Rochestie ‘ended’ the game picking up the rebound.
The quarters: 18-20, 45-39, 65-59, 81-78.
Οlympiacos (Bartzokas): Rochestie 11 (3), Baldwin 2, Paul 6, Κoniaris, Buycks, Vezenkov 10 (2), Printezis 8, Papanikolaou 12 (13p. 6 reb., 2 as.), Rubit 4, Ellis 6 (10 reb.), ΜcKissic 22 (2 3p., 3 reb., 1 as., 1 st., 2 bl.)
Panathinaikos (Pitino): Thomas 8, Rice 12, Papagiannis 10, Rautins, Papapetrou 10, Johnson, Fredette 2, Calathes 18 (1), Mitoglou 11, Bentil 7.
"Congratulations to everyone"
Giorgos Bartzokas stated: “It was obviously a typical Olympiacos – Panathinaikos derby, with a lot of intensity, a lot of turnovers. Let’s talk about our own team, we were very nervous. This is obvious in the 17 turnovers. Sometimes, they were stupid turnovers, unforced ones. On the other hand, it was only normal, because we have many new players at Euroleague level and we also have three new players on our team. At the same time, we played without Milutinov, who is very important to us and of course, we were also playing without Spanoulis. So, regardless of how we were playing, we won the game and I have to congratulate my players. This game is over, now we have to focus on the next game against Efes. Congratulations to everyone, our fans, the coaching staff and the players. Let’s move on”.
Asked if he feels vindicated about his choices, he replied: “The first day I came here, I talked about myself. Now, I wouldn’t want to do that anymore. We are a team. It has nothing to do with how I feel or I don’t feel. I made a decision to come here and I’m extremely happy. I have said tht many times. The important thing is how we feel as a team. Our goal is to improve. We want to be getting better each passing day and it’s important that we have improved parts of our game. This makes me happy".
When asked about the ‘secret’ to the Olympiacos’ transformation, he said: “The team was never scattered. It’s in a transitional stage, having changed many players and coaches. It was not about lack of effort on the team’s part. It’s a team that had been in crisis, but ‘scattered’ does not describe it, it’s not fair. Everyone was putting in work, the coaches, the players, the organization. Olympiacos is a team that operates well. The team has had competition issues, which were obvious. We had to play better defense and that’s not my discovery. You go nowhere if you don’t perform well on both ends of the floor. We want to facilitate more when playing offense and play better defense. I’m sure we have improved defense wise, despite ‘heavy feet’ tonight and some hesitation in decision making, because the pressure to play well and win did not help us. The signings have helped us, for sure. For instance, Ellis is player that played without Milutinov tonight, he grabbed ten rebounds and has faced up to the challenge each time. As for McKissic, he’s a good player and helped us win. I would like to assess everyone, either positively or negatively in a greater span of time. Olympiacos is a team under a lot of pressure and someone who hasn’t lived through the atmosphere of these games has a hard time handling it. I know a lot of players that in the past, did not play well in their first of second game at the SEF, all the more in a game against Panathinikos. So, in general, I’m optimistic”.
When told that there are more benefits to take from winning against Panathinaikos, apart from ranking, he pointed out: “I don’t see any other benefit. Our goal is to make the playoffs and we need to supersede ourselves. We need to make big wins on the road and unfortunately the game against Maccabi did not help us. We have to find big wins elsewhere. For us long we are mathematically in the game, we will be fighting each and every game, without changing our philosophy. Some enjoyed this win a little more, due to the known rivalry. I’d like to leave this concept and I would like all the members of our team to do the same. This situation has become tiresome and you know what I mean. We need to stick to basketball. We won a game, we did not play well, we could have played better. We could have avoided turnovers and won easier. However, Panathinaikos is a great opponent, they have experienced guards that control the game. We were successful is some aspects of the game, not so much in others. Let’s learn from that, and become better in the next game”.
"McKissic is one of the best Euroleague signings"!
Panathinaikos’ coach, Rick Pitino, commented: “It was an outstanding game. I obviously don’t like losing. I have been coaching for many years and we have had a huge opportunity to win this game, despite the very low percentages from the three point line, which is so unusual. When the game was 67-67, the momentum was for us, however, they made a three at the buzzer and I think that was decisive. A desperate shot really, that hurt us nevertheless. However, I’m proud for the effort of my players. Olympiacos was outstanding and I think that the signing of Shaquielle McKisic was one of the best signings I have seen in the Euroleague. He played an incredible game against Maccabi and an incredible game tonight. Congrats to Olympiacos on their performance”.
In regard to the players missing from the ‘reds’ rotation: “I love Spanoulis, he’s a great player, but Olympiacos played its two best games in Tel Aviv and tonight. They played an amazing game in Tel Aviv, in one of the most difficult places for anyone to play basketball. They have been playing outstandingly and they got an amazing guard. We beat them in our home court playing a bad game. We played well tonight, despite not shooting with good percentages from the perimeter and we lost. It was an incredible basketball game. Neither team played a good game in the first round, however, a good game was played tonight”.
Asked about the limited minutes of Rautins and Fredette, he replied: “It had to do with match ups. I wanted to have Calathes on McKissic. It’s a really difficult match up with these two players. Fredette made a great effort. He practice played him face up, ‘mirrored’ him while on the court. However, at some point I wanted Tyrese Rice to penetrate more and not attempting forced threes”.
About the battle to qualify to the playoffs of the competition, he commented: “There’s pressure on all the teams that try to gain a spot in the top 8. Our problem is that we have a difficult schedule, while Olympiacos has the second hardest among all those teams. Yes, there’s a lot of pressure, but we played good basketball tonight. I’m excited, we need to be excellent to make the playoffs”.