At the top with rotating
Teo Papaloukas did not play due to his injury, Raso Nesterovic did not play to get some rest and Dusan Ivkovic gave minutes to all the rest of his players. Given the facts, the “red-whites” did not have a problem scattering Ikaros. Olympiacos won 86-64 and remained at the top of the ranking with a record of 4/4 victories.
The “red-whites” put on a good face from the beginning and took the lead in two digit numbers, where they kept it to the end facing no resistance from the guests.
Τhe quarters: 25-14, 47-35, 66-54, 86-64.
Οlympiacos (Ivkovic): Gordon 5(1), Spanoulis 9, Bourousis 16, Keselj 8, Pelekanos, Μavrokefalides 6, Glyniadakis 4, Νielsen 17(2), Papanikolaou 8, Τeodosic 13(1), Κatsivelis.
Ikaros (Lykogiannis): Agadakos 6, Falekas 6, Karampoulas, Polytarchou, Thompson 9, Kalampokis 14, Carroll 8, McAlarney 11, Kerasovitis, Κaroufas 2, Petrodimopoulos 4, Krasic 4.
DUSAN IVKOVIC: It was a League game for which I would like to congratulate Ikaros for playing quite good basketball in the first three quarters, considering the dynamics. On the other hand, I’m not saying we didn’t want to play, but we coped with the game quite well, considering we were facing a team with very good three-point percentages and good passing game. We made one last practice in the morning and four away games are ahead of us from Wednesday on. We have worked a little more than usual. I expect that from now on the team will be raising the tempo till the end of the month and will be playing better basketball. I’m not saying we played bad, but in the first three quarters Ikaros was controlling the game pretty good.
All the players that have been working hard are entitled to some minutes, like Glyniadakis and Pelekanos who were given the opportunity to start, although this is of no importance, because to me, the most important player is the one that comes from the bench and understands the game.
It’s still early to tell if I’m satisfied, I cannot analyze the players’ performances now. It was a game that we had to give minutes. If you want to know who I’m happy with, then it’s Katsivelis, but don’t write about that (laughing). A player that scores a 3-pointer or dunks the ball is not necessarily good. I judge basketball and performances a little different.
We are getting ready game by game. It’s a great opportunity for Olympiacos to show that we are not just a home court team. We have to show what we are made of now.
DEMETRES KATSIVELIS: Ikaros played a very good game. All the players got minutes and that’s important because four away games are ahead of us. We raised the tempo in the last quarter and that’s how the final margin got wider.
ΑRIS LYKOGIANNIS: The game was quite successful for us, given the difficulty of it. We had a poor start, but then we found balance. Up to the point of the technical and given the proportions, we had been competitive. From that point on, Olympiacos got better, they scored more in transition; we were not good at it. I’m content in general and I think we got a lot of experience. I want to wish Olympiacos success with their goals.
ΑLEX FALEKAS: We knew it would be a very difficult game. We tried to stay in the game and we did so in the first three quarters, the difference got big in the last quarter, but in general terms, we were successful. For us, the most critical game is that of next week in our home court against Panellinios. That’s where we need to focus and give everything we got.