2014-15Top 16Round 4
Olympiacos Piraeus 76
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 64
January 23, 2015 CET: 20:30
Local time: 21:30 PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM

Spanoulis headlines come-from-behind Olympiacos win

Olympiacos Piraeus erased an 11-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 76-64 on Friday at Peace and Friendship Stadium. Vassilis Spanoulis scored 8 points and Kostas Sloukas dished 3 assists during a 20-2 charge from late in the third quarter until midway through the fourth that made it 67-53 and allowed the Reds to cruise to victory. Spanoulis paced the winners with 27 points and 6 assists as Olympiacos stayed pace with CSKA Moscow atop Top 16 Group F at 4-0. Laboral dropped to 1-3 and a share of sixth place. Othello Hunter added 14 points and 7 boards for the hosts, who extended their home-court winning streak to 11 Euroleague games. Darius Adams recorded 12 points and 5 assists for Laboral, while Toko Shengelia netted 10 points in defeat.

First quarter: Little separates teams early

Fabien Causeur opened the scoring for the visitors with a three-point play. Bryant Dunston put the hosts on the scoreboard, but Mirza Begic sank a jumper and Fernando San Emeterio drove into the paint to make it 2-7. Dunston and Shengelia traded free throws. The Reds started to find their footing as Spanoulis got his first points, Dunston his first block and Tremmell Darden narrowed the gap to 7-9. Bren Petway’s jumper tied the score. Shengelia fouled Darden from behind and the veteran forward gave Olympiacos its first lead, 10-9, midway through the quarter. After the TV timeout, Begic scored from close range. Spanoulis split free throws to tie the game at 11-11. Kim Tillie hit a fade-away jumper and Davis Bertans drilled a three for a 5-point Laboral advantage. Spanoulis responded immediately with a drive and Dunston and Kostas Sloukas added free throws to put Olympiacos on top 17-16. Mike James countered with foul shots of his own to leave Laboral with a 17-18 edge after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Three-pointers help Laboral pull in front

Mike James charged down the Olympiacos lane for a slam. Adams followed with a deep three for a 6-point Laboral advantage. Hunter scored down low, but Adams showed off his shooting range with an even longer triple to make it 19-26. Georgios Printezis was fouled on his baseline drive and hit both free throws, but a second Bertans three gave Laboral an 8-point cushion. Spanoulis took charge with a layup. Tillie stepped up for Laboral with a tip-in and a short jumper, though Spanoulis fed Hunter for a slam in between those baskets. Colton Iverson made free throws and rejected Dunston as the visitors took the difference to double figures at 25-35. Petway gave the crowd something to shout about with a three from the corner. After a timeout, Adams drove for a finger roll and a 28-37 lead at the break.

Third quarter: Spanoulis leads Olympiacos back

Shengelia and Dunston scored the first points of the second half. Laboral went to Shengelia again and he scored 2 free throws. Olympiacos looked to turn things around as Spanoulis drilled a three and Vangelis Mantzaris flipped to a cutting Petway for a wicked slam. Petway rose high to send a block into the stands. But San Emeterio’s fade away jumper was followed by a steal and score from Adams. Spanoulis connected from downtown again and Darden scored in transition to make it 40-45 midway through the quarter. Shengelia was in the right place to retrieve the ball and score after Spanoulsi blocked Adams. Mantzaris drained a three to bring the Reds within 4. Shengelia’s next bucket was matched by Spanoulis’s free throws. The Olympiacos legend drew his team within 47-49 with a short jumper. Bertans fed Iverson for a slam, but Spanoulis had the arena rocking with his next three. After Bertans missed twice from the charity stripe, Spanoulis ran the pick-and-roll with Hunter, who finished with a layup for a 52-51 Olympiacos lead. Spanoulis hit another jumper, but Tillie kept it close, 54-53.

Fourth quarter: Reds cap 20-2 run to wrap up victory

Matt Lojeski sank a smooth jumper to start the final stanza. Mantzaris found a cutting Hunter for a basket plus foul as the Reds looked to pull away. James fouled out and Lojeski buried a three for a 62-53 lead. Hunter made it a double-digit lead and Spanoulis added a three to bring the crowd to its feet at the end of a 20-2 run. More than five minutes passed in the quarter before Begic ended the Laboral drought with a pair of free throws. Spanoulis fed Hunter for a basket-plus-foul as the Reds continued to march. Begic generated a few more points from the line, but the fans were singing after Spanoulis’s next basket with less than two minutes remaining. The star guard got a standing ovation when he came out with the outcome clear. Adams free throws and a Ben Hansbrough triple narrowed the gap in the final minute, but it was Olympiacos that celebrated at the final buzzer.

Friday, January 23, 2015
Euroleague.net

Referees: JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; SAHIN, TOLGA; SHULGA, BORIS
Attendance: 8540
By Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus17112622
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria18191611
End of Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus17285476
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria18375364
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PETWAY, BRENT 17:36 7 2/2 1/6     3 3       2 1 2 1 5
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 16:52 14 6/8   2/2 2 5 7           3 2 18
6 DUNSTON, BRYANT 23:08 7 2/5   3/4 3 4 7 2 2   1 1 3 2 13
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 32:19 27 6/9 4/8 3/4 1   1 6 2 2   2 2 6 28
10 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 16:12 2 0/1 0/3 2/2   1 1 4   2   1   2 2
14 CHRISTODOULOU, ANTREAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 22:24 2 0/4 0/2 2/2 1 3 4 1   2     4 2 -3
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 21:23 7   2/4 1/2   4 4 4   1     2 3 12
18 KAVVADAS, VASILIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 KATSIVELIS, DIMITRIS 8:29   0/1   0/2   3 3 1         1 1 1
21 DARDEN, TREMMELL 18:53 5 2/4 0/1 1/2   1 1   1         1 4
24 LOJESKI, MATT 22:44 5 1/3 1/2     1 1 1 1       2   3
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 76 19/37 8/26 14/20 9 25 34 19 6 7 3 5 19 20 85
        51.4% 30.8% 70%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
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
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 ADAMS, DARIUS 27:17 12 2/5 2/5 2/2 2 2 4 5 1 3   1 3 3 12
3 JAMES, MIKE 12:43 4 1/2   2/2   3 3     3     5 2  
4 IVERSON, COLTON 17:25 6 2/3   2/4 3 5 8   1   2   1 2 15
5 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 23:22 3 1/3 0/1 1/1 1 1 2     2     2 2  
7 SHENGELIA, TORNIKE 18:05 10 3/6 0/2 4/4 3   3   1 1   1 2 2 7
10 DIOP, MAMADOU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 DIOP, ILIMANE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 TILLIE, KIM 21:55 6 3/4 0/1   1 2 3 2   1 1   1 1 9
15 BEGIC, MIRZA 22:35 8 2/5   4/6 1 8 9 1   1 2   1 3 16
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 23:48 4 2/4 0/2     1 1 3   3   1 1 1  
23 HANSBROUGH, BEN 11:11 5 1/2 1/1         1 1       3 1 4
42 BERTANS, DAVIS 21:39 6 0/5 2/7 0/2   3 3 1   1     1 2 -2
Team           2 2 4               4
Totals 200:00 64 17/39 5/19 15/21 13 27 40 13 4 15 5 3 20 19 65
        43.6% 26.3% 71.4%
Head coach: NAVARRO, IBON

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It is an important victory as all of them are, especially now. The Top 16 is a tough competition which lasts for fourteen weeks and you must be strong and mentally ready to play. Tonight we didn’t start well, we were nervous and didn’t take the right decisions either to pass or to shoot the ball. Our defense didn’t work as well and allowed points from their penetrations, which we have said that we had to avoid. We improved our performance in the second half, since we forced them to score only 27 points and kept them at 20 points below their average. The good defense gave us more offensive options and the game went our way. I want to thank our fans which helped us in the crucial moments and pushed the players to give their best."
NAVARRO, IBON
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
"In the first half we performed well in both ends, but it was not enough for us to take the victory. We said in the locker room that we expect Olympiacos to come back in the game, so we had to be ready, but we were not ready either on defense, or on offense. They trapped us on defense and when they started running the open court, we were unable to foul and stop them. However, I have to mention the great performance by Spanoulis, who is one of the greatest stars in the European basketball. He had an outstanding game in the third period, and drove his team to the victory."

Players

PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"We were expecting to have a difficult game, because Laboral Kutxa has good players with athletic skills and you are not allowed to underestimate them. We had to beat them, otherwise it would cancel our road victory at Fenerbahce Ulker. I appreciate very much this victory, because all games are tricky and dangerous."
HUNTER, OTHELLO
Olympiacos Piraeus
“I don’t think that we started so bad, because of the lack of concentration. We were a little bit under pressure, this is the reason they outscored us. During the halftime coach asked from us to be cool and just to play our basketball, and it happened like that. We returned on the court and played with much more tension and passion, in order to dominate and get the win.”
MANTZARIS, VANGELIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"We had a late start, due to a lack of concentration, and this is the reason why the first half was terrible. Fortunately in the second half we found our defensive instinct and this gave as a lot of solutions on offense. Coach Sfairopoulos remained very cool and helped us a lot to come back to the game and win it. We are not in a hurry: the season is long and I think that the current Top 16 is the most competitive ever. What happened tonight in Novgorod is clear proof of that. Every victory counts, even every point might be important."