A victory and a new record...
With the captain Teo Papaloukas the best player of the game and also great games by Bourousis, Nesterovic and Gordon, Olympiacos edged Valencia 77-62 and attained an important advantage in case of a tie with the Spaniards.
The Olympiacos captain was excellent and he will be remembering the particular game for a long time since he became the first player in the history of the Euroleague to surpass 300 steals.
The “reds” played a great defensive game in the first half and established victory, and when the Spaniards tried to close in the margin, the players of Dusan Ivkovic always had an answer.
Τhe quarters: 18-12, 38-24, 57-42, 77-62
Οlympiacos (Ivkovic): Papaloukas 8, Nesterovic 17, Spanoulis 14, Vassilopoulos, Bourousis 11, Keselj 5, Nielsen 7, Papanikolaou, Erceg, Teodosic 8, Halperin, Gordon 7.
Valencia (Pesic): Cook 4, Augustine, Richardson, Claver16, Simeon, Lishchuk 10, Martinez, Pietrus, Savanovic 13, De Colo 7, Fernandez, Javtokas 12.
DUSAN IVKOVIC: “It was a very tough game against a team that never stops playing at a high tempo and with the best defense in the Euroleague according to the stats. Valencia spoke of no pressure before the game and we played them with a quite good defense with a lot of pressing that forced them to 21 turnovers. The game went our way, we passed 21 assists, we made 10 turnovers and kept a very good rhythm. We tried to play as a team and I’m happy about it. Now we have the League and a cup game, a week without Euroleague and I hope this will not affect us.
Of course the difference is important. We made a good game as a total, despite not starting the second half as ready as we should have been. This period when we received a 6-0 streak has been the only not so good one for us.
Both Giannis (i.e. Bourousis) and Raso (Nesterovic) were very good tonight. I can complain although a little bit because Javtokas has made 4/4 shots and we did not foul him. However, Giannis had been very good at the beginning of the game as well as in the second half when we did not start well”.
TEO PAPALOUKAS: “I have said that stealing is risky. Maybe having grown older plays a part in making all those steals (laughing). But the most important thing is to have the more victories possible at the end.
It was a difficult game, let’s not forget that the defeat against Fener at the premiere still burdens us. We had to concentrate, since Valencia is a good team. After the arrival of coach Pesic, they have shown a different face, they are definitely better. We had to play good defense and we did so. Nervousness was obvious during some parts of the game. We are very well aware that during that part of the Euroleague even one point can send you to the play-offs, give you the first position or send you home. That’s why we had to remain focused from the beginning to the end”.
JAMON GORDON: “It was a great victory, against a very good team. The result came through team work. We played well as whole and we succeeded our goal. Now we have to win at Valencia as well. I want to continue playing and keep helping the team”.
SVELTISLAV PESIC: “I want to congratulate Olympiacos and coach Ivkovic on the victory. You cannot lose a game in the first half in basketball. We did not play well during that time, but we did not lose the game then. We made 12 turnovers and we did not have a good rhythm, we lost our confidence. Our rivals’ defense was very tough. We knew what we should be expecting from Olympiacos after their defeat to Fener and that this was a very important game for them. We weren’t bad in the second half; we found offensive solutions and were more competitive.
Olympiacos is not just the favorite to qualify from the group. He’s the favorite to win the Euroleague. They have good players; good coaches and can beat both Valencia and Fenerbahce/Ulker away.
Both Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are excellent teams. They have both different strong points. Everyone knows that Olympiacos and Panathinaikos will be playing the Greek League Finals and the probably the Euroleague Final”.