Harrison for the win!
A triple by Aaron Harrison at the buzzer gave Olympiacos the 85-82 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, closing the double-round Euroleague week for the ‘reds’ with a perfect two for two record!
Relying on good perimeter percentages, as well as their very good ones for twos, the guests set the tempo and closed the first quarter at +7 (15-22). Giorgos Bartzokas “shuffled the deck” and lining up Jenkins, Spanoulis, Harrison, Printezis and Martin succeeded to turn the game around. His players played an amazing defensive game, moved the ball correctly, hit crucial threes and with only one turnover in the second quarter, the ‘reds’ replied with a partial 14-4 that gave them a 3p. lead (29-26 at 15’). With Giorgos Printezis and Aaron Harrison spearheading the offense, our team made the score 44-38, before Wilbekin wrote the 44-40 board that marked the end of the first half.
The ‘reds’ continued finding target from the 6.75m. arc and with Sasha Vezenkov taking the lead found themselves ahead with +10 (54-44). The guests showed reflexes and ‘striking’ from the perimeter as well closed in at 4p. (56-52). Kostas Papanikolaou facilitated for his teammates and Hassan Martin did a very good job in the post, hence allowing Olympiacos to maintain the lead (69-63, at 29’). Maccabi, however, did not give up the fight… They exploited on the defensive gaps of the ‘reds’ and their poor offensive production and took a one point lead (73-74) at 37’. From that point on, the game became a top level derby with Olympiacos showing ‘suicidal’ tendencies, since, despite leading by 3 (82-79) with only 11.2’’ on the clock and with ball in his possession following two missed free throws by Jones, were not able to finish the game… Wilbekin scored a three with 7.6’’ to go, following an offensive rebound Maccabi had gotten). Olympiacos’ last offensive play was virtually executed with only 4’’ on the clock (the guests had two fouls to give and did so accordingly), with Harrison shooting from behind the 6.75m. arc at the buzzer and writing the final 85-82!
The quarters 15-22, 44-40, 69-66, 85-82.
"We deserved to win"
The Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, stated: “First of all, I have to admit that it was a fantastic game for the fans, although not so much for the coaches. Both teams played very tough to the end. The game relied on offense and we had to play better defense on some really great players on the Maccabi roster. We made a lot of fouls in the fourth quarter, 11-2 if I remember correctly. This made it a lot harder to play an aggressive and effective defense. We deserved to win because we were leading the score almost throughout the game”.
Talking about the last minutes, he said: “Maccabi was kind of lucky, because they got two offensive rebounds in the last seconds. The shot was almost an air ball, but they got the offensive rebound, we fouled, put three big players for the rebound, but they missed their free throws and it ended up being a good play for them. That’s because they got the rebound and found the player that is always ready to take the crucial shot. I’m talking about Wilbekin, who scored and tied the game. We also have clutch players though, just like Harrison tonight, who made a great shot, while having been excellent throughout the game. We won and we are very happy about it. It’s our third victory in a row. Following our road win against Panathinaikos, and after winning against two of the favorites to win a spot in the Final Four, like Armani and Maccabi, we can be nothing but satisfied”.
Asked about the different line ups he used, he pointed out: “I believe that everyone is a match to everyone else, depending on the timing, the moment, the opponent, the coach’s instinct. There are too many parameters that you have to take into account to form a line up. Of course you can also be wrong, because at the end you will be judged by the result. We are happy to have good players in our perimeter but also inside the post. We have had different leading men tonight in comparison to the game two nights ago and I need to give credit to my players, because they managed to win, despite how the game evolved. Maccabi put tremendous pressure on us and was trailing a breath away. We could not gain distance. And the fact that we responded as soon as they got the lead is a testament to the team’s character that’s been gradually built”.
Όταν του ζητήθηκε να μιλήσει για τον Χάρισον και το buzzer beater, σχολίασε: "Θα ήθελα να κερδίσουμε με 20 πόντους, για να μην έχουμε και άγχος! Μιλώντας σοβαρά τώρα, αν δείτε την ιστορία του Χάρισον, έβαλε τρία buzzer beater με το Κεντάκι, το έκανε και με την Γαλατά. Είναι τέτοιος παίκτης. Δεν θέλω, όμως, να διαχωρίζω. Το μεγαλύτερο λάθος που γινόταν τα προηγούμενα χρόνια, αν θέλετε τη γνώμη μου, ήταν ο διαχωρισμός σε Έλληνες, ξένους, έμπειρους, άπειρους. Είμαστε μια ομάδα, έχουμε, έχουμε ικανούς παίκτες, είμαστε μία γροθιά και όλοι καταλαβαίνουν πόσο σημαντικό είναι να εμπιστευτούν ο ένας τον άλλο. Αυτές οι νίκες βοηθούν σε αυτό ακριβώς".
Asked whether there is a good vibe in the team, he replied: “We are striving towards it. First of all, we have very good characters on the team. We don’t have selfish players that think about themselves. They get joy from their teammates success and I see that during practices, during games. In how we celebrate victories and get upset with losses. We want to create a good atmosphere, a good vibe that I feel is going to lead us to a good season”.
On his part, Maccabi’s coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, said: “It was a closed game from beginning to end. Olympiacos got to lead by ten at some point. But we came back. We were competitive, we went ahead and challenged the win up to the last second. We showed a better face compared to the game against Bayern. Small details decided the game at the end. Our gain is that some new players got minutes, like Jones and Blayzer, that proved to be of Euroleague level. We are upset because we once again lost the game in the last minute, but from now on we are going to practice even more to improve and win that kind of games in the future. Congratulations to Olympiacos, they deserved to win, just like we did”.