2001-02Regular SeasonRound 2
October 18, 2001 CET: 20:00
Local time: 20:00 ANDREAS PAPANDREU

If a road win in the Euroleague is a sign that a team has arrived, then Opel Skyliners of Frankfurt have arrived. The Skyliners won like old hands as they pocketed their first Euroleague victory, 89-93, on the road Thursday at Peristeri of Greece. The win was developed from the very first minute and consisted of a certain dominance in all aspects of the game. Five Frankfurt scorers in double figures were led by Chad Austin with 22 points, most in the crucial second half. Marcus Goree and Virgil Stanescu added 19 each, and Anatoly Lochmanchuk and Pascal Roller 15 each. Frankfurt raised its record in Group B to 1-1 while Peristeri fell to 0-2. Byron Dinkins led Peristeri with 21 points, followed by Kostas Tsartsaris with 20 and Alexis Papadatos with 10.

Frankfurt surprised everybody at the beginning of the game. Stanescu, the forward from Romania, posted up and tallied 9 points in less than 7 minutes, and Pascal Roller, with his 3 three-pointers, gave the German team an impressive 9-23 lead two minutes before the end of the first quarter. Peristeri, missing a win in all first five official games, had that psychological problem to overcome as well. The hosts seemed trapped between that and an excellent Frankfurt's performance both on defense and offense. What's worse, Adam Wocjik committed his third foul after five minutes of play. Frankfurt concluded the first period ahead 16-25, but the home team was starting to wake up.

Over the course of the second quarter, with the effective penetrations of Byron Dinkins and the scoring opportunities given to Kostas Tsartsaris, Peristeri managed to make a 10-2 run and to cut the margin to 26-27. Shortly before the end of the first half, a Maurice Carter jumper gave Peristeri its first lead at 33-31, concluding a 17-6 run overall. Despite the comeback and Stanescu going without a point during the whole second quarter, Frankfurt didn't allow Peristeri to take the lead on a permanent basis. The teams reached halftime tied 37-37. To that point, Peristeri had shot 0-for-8 from the three-point line, compared Frankfurt's 4-for-12. But the visitors had committed 13 turnovers, the Greeks only six. Individually, Tsartsaris and Stanescu led in scoring by 15 and 9 points respectively. Concerning the foul situation, Wocjik and Michael Andersen of Peristeri went to the break with three fouls each, as did Goree and Lochmanchuk of Frankfurt.

After halftime, outstanding defense and consecutive three-point shots - one of them especially impressive, scored by Roller on a fastbreak - gave Frankfurt the opportunity to open the tempo and repeat the same scenario as in the first quarter. Austin exploded in the third quarter to lead the Germans team on a 13-2 run as Peristeri, because of fourth fouls committed by Wojcik and Mikalis Pelekanos, didn't play defense at all. Goree gave the visitors a 13-point lead, 42-55, in minute 25. Peristeri's ability to make up a big point difference was also being jeapordized. After two minutes Wocjik was fouled out, leaving the court with just 3 points - comparing to 27 in Peristeri's Euroleague opener - and Tsartsaris seemed weary. He scored only two points in 10 minutes and Frankfurt concluded the third period ahead 53-63.

The fourth quarter started with the answer of Dinkins, who didin't accept the status quo and tried to rally his team. He hit consecutive three-pointers and brought Peristeri to within 7, at 64-71, with 6:45 to play. But Goree was still there. He seemed jealous because of Dinkins' performance and he bumped the Frankfurt lead back up to double figures, 64-74. Papadatos scored a three-pointer which gave Peristeri one more chance to fight for the victory, 72-79, but Skylines didn't panic. The German team kept playing its game, stayed safely in front by 5 to 6 points and despite Dinkins, managed to register its first Euroleague victory, an absolutely deserved one, by 89-93.

Thursday, October 18, 2001
V.S., Athens
No results found.
Referees: POZZANA, MAURO; LICINA, MIODRAG; BACHAR, SHMUEL
Attendance: 1500
By Quarter1234
Peristeri16211636
Opel Skyliners25122630
End of Quarter1234
Peristeri16375389
Opel Skyliners25376393
Peristeri
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 DINKINS, BYRON 32:52 21 7/9 2/8 1/1   2 2 6 1 3     3 2 18
5 MITROPOULOS, IOANNIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 PAPADATOS, ALEXIS 13:49 10 2/2 2/2   1   1 1 1       4   9
7 PELEKANOS, MICHALIS 32:54 9 3/3 1/5   1 4 5   4 2     5 1 8
8 AGRON, XIARCHOS 6:53           1 1   1 2     3 3  
9 PANTAZOPOULOS, GIORGOS 3:49     0/1             1         -2
10 WOJCIK, ADAM 11:33 3 1/1 0/3 1/2 2 1 3     1     5 3 -1
11 TSARTSARIS, KOSTAS 36:25 23 7/12 0/3 9/10 4 5 9 2 1 3 2   4 7 28
12 KUHEL, ALEXANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 CARTER, MAURICE 29:59 9 3/10 0/2 3/4           4     2 6 -1
14 ANDERSEN, MICHAEL 27:12 12 5/7   2/3 6 7 13 2   2 1   5 2 20
15 EFTHIMIOU, THANASIS 4:34 2   0/1 2/4                 1 2  
Team                                
Totals 200:00 89 28/44 5/25 18/24 14 20 34 11 8 18 3 0 32 26 79
        63.6% 20% 75%
Head coach: PEDOULAKIS, ARGYRIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Opel Skyliners
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 STANESCU, VIRGIL 31:31 13 3/6 1/2 4/5 2 4 6   1 7   1 5 7 9
5 HENNEN, DOMINIK 1:25 1     1/2                   1 1
6 DIARRA, IBRAHIM 25:20 2 1/1       4 4     3     5   -2
7 NURNBERGER, KAI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 GOREE, MARCUS 34:36 21 6/10 1/3 6/8 2 3 5     3   1 3 6 17
9 WINTERMANTEL, ROBERT 6:30 4 1/1   2/2   2 2     1     3 1 3
11 ROLLER, PASCAL 37:42 15 3/5 3/6 0/2 1 2 3 4 2 1   1 1 1 15
12 AUSTIN, CHAD 38:02 22 3/7 3/6 7/10   1 1 4 2 4     4 8 19
13 JANKE, INGMAR 1:42                              
15 LOKHMANCHUK, ALEXANDER 23:12 15   1/6 12/14 2 4 6   4 3     5 8 18
Team                                
Totals 200:00 93 17/30 9/23 32/43 7 20 27 8 9 22 0 3 26 32 80
        56.7% 39.1% 74.4%
Head coach: HERBERT, GORDON
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PEDOULAKIS, ARGYRIS
Peristeri
"There are two reasons for our second consecutive loss in this Euroleague. First of all, we didn¿t play hard perimeter defense and let our opponents have many open shots. The second reason was our bad psychology. We have lost six games in a row, three in the Greek League, one in the Greek Cup and two in the Euroleague and my players feel a great pressure on them. We made only 1 of 17 three-point shots after 30 minutes, so it was impossible for my team to beat Opel Skyliners. I am very disappointed, but I think that we will recover soon."
HERBERT, GORDON
Opel Skyliners
"I have to congratulate my players, because they showed high concentration during the whole game. In the Euroleague opener, we lost it six minutes before the end and Barcelona beat us at home, so this time we were much more serious as a team and we made it. We had a bad percentage in free throw attempts, but we made some big shots, especially in the fourth quarter. That was a very important victory for my team, because we are alive and hungry for the future."

Players

TSARTSARIS, KOSTAS
Peristeri
"My coach should be tougher in his comments. We had a huge problem in the first and third period of the game and even if we came close during the second quarter, the German team managed to take a ten points lead in the beginning of the third quarter, killing us. We have to fight and try to forget these bad results. We are a young team with great desire, as we had last year and we need a victory to get our confidence back."
STANESCU, VIRGIL
Opel Skyliners
"We had an excellent start. Peristeri managed to cut the deficit in the second quarter, but we achieved a secure lead in the third period and that was it! Even if we had enormous foul trouble, we stayed together and we proved that we have heart. This victory is very important for my team, because now we know that we can play much better in the difficult games ahead."
No results found.