2016-17Regular SeasonRound 1
October 12, 2016 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 BARCLAYCARD CENTER
Sergio Llull - Real Madrid - EB16

Madrid tops Olympiacos in season opener

Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus got the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague era up and running with an intense battle which saw the Spanish hosts produce a powerful finish to win 83-65 on Wednesday night in the Spanish capital. Sergio Llull masterminded his team’s success, scoring 15 of his 22 points in the first quarter, while teen sensation Luka Doncic added 11 points and Jaycee Carroll contributed 10. Matt Lojeski and veteran leader Vassilis Spanoulis kept Olympiacos in touch with 14 and 12 points respectively, and Georgios Printezis added 10. But Madrid finished strong to pull clear.

Spanoulis hit a triple to get Olympiacos going – the first basket of new era. Back-to-back three-pointers from Llull gave Madrid early 14-10 advantage, and after Spanoulis and Kostas Papanikolaou gave Olympiacos a slim lead, a corner triple from Jeffrey Taylor and 7 more points from Llull, including another downtown dagger, helped Madrid to 24-17 after 10 minutes. A corner three-pointer from Doncic increased the margin to 31-23 in the second, but Dimitrios Agravanis had a basket-plus-foul and a three-pointer to bring Olympiacos closer. After Carroll nailed his first three, Spanoulis hooked up with Printezis for a layup, then took it to the basket himself in the waning seconds to make it 42-40 at halftime. Llull and Ayon stepped up for Real Madrid after the break to extend Madrid's margin to 49-44. Spanoulis had 4 points in a 0-7 run that Vangelis Mantzaris capped with a three-pointer from the right wing to put Olympiacos in charge for the first time since the first quarter, 49-51. Rudy Fernandez took over in Madrid's most dangerous moment, getting help from Doncic and Llull to give the hosts a 62-53 lead after 30 minutes. A jump hook by Othello Hunter made it a double-digit game, 64-53, early in the fourth quarter. A pair of Lojeski three-pointers got Olympiacos within 67-60, and again 71-63, but over the final 6:45 of the game Madrid made a 12-2 run to seal the outcome.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Euroleague.net

Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; LATISEVS, OLEGS
Attendance: 11723
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid24182021
Olympiacos Piraeus17231312
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid24426283
Olympiacos Piraeus17405365
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 RANDOLPH, ANTHONY 16:42 7 2/3 0/1 3/4   1 1 2   1     2 4 8
4 DRAPER, DONTAYE 13:15 2 1/1       1 1   1           4
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 27:38 7 2/5 1/5   4 3 7 4 1 1     2 3 12
6 NOCIONI, ANDRES DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 DONCIC, LUKA 17:04 11 0/1 2/5 5/5 3 2 5 3 1 3   1 2 4 14
9 REYES, FELIPE 9:12 6 2/3   2/4   5 5     1 1     3 11
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 19:13 9 4/8   1/2   4 4 1     1   1 1 10
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 16:15 10 2/4 2/4 0/1   1 1         1 1   4
21 HUNTER, OTHELLO 20:47 4 2/6     1 3 4   2 1     1 1 5
23 LLULL, SERGIO 26:37 22 3/6 4/5 4/5       4   2   1 2 4 20
33 THOMPKINS, TREY 14:06 2 1/2 0/1   2 3 5 1         3   3
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 19:11 3 0/2 1/3     2 2 1 1 1     3 1  
Team             4 4               4
Totals 200:00 83 19/41 10/24 15/21 10 29 39 16 6 10 2 3 17 21 95
        46.3% 41.7% 71.4%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO
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
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 GREEN, ERICK 15:17   0/3 0/1           1       1   -4
2 BIRCH, KHEM 16:26 6 3/6     3 7 10     2 2 1 2   10
4 YOUNG, PATRIC 11:17 1 0/1   1/2   1 1           1 1  
6 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 3:04           1 1     1     2   -2
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 29:10 12 2/5 2/5 2/2 1 3 4 5   5   1 1 6 14
10 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS 11:12 6 1/2 1/3 1/1 1 1 2           3 1 3
11 MILUTINOV, NIKOLA 7:56 2 0/2   2/2 1 1 2           3 1  
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 28:48 11 4/8   3/4   3 3 2         2 4 13
16 PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS 16:09 4 2/4 0/5   1 2 3 1 1 1 1   3   -1
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 24:22 3 0/1 1/3   1 3 4 2         2   4
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 13:01 6 2/3 0/1 2/2 1   1 1 1       1 3 9
24 LOJESKI, MATT 23:18 14 2/3 3/6 1/2   1 1 4 1 3     1 1 12
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 65 16/38 7/24 12/15 10 25 35 15 4 12 3 2 22 17 61
        42.1% 29.2% 80%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"We worked really hard for this win. The final difference does not reflect what happened in the game, that's true. We had a correct first half but they punished us in some particular situations - in some one-on-one plays in which we should have held our position, as well as in rebounds. We improved that in the second half, had more control on defense and managed to get a important, comfortable lead. I am very happy on how my whole team performed tonight, as well as for starting the EuroLeague with a win, as it will be a challenging competition. We ran a bit more when we played better defense, had some open shots and rebounding allowed us to get more possessions. It will be a tough, demanding competition. Points difference can also be decisive. We played until the last second."
SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
“We came here to play a good game and did so in the first half, when we controlled the tempo and the rhythm of the game. We played good enough in both ends of the court, offense and defense, with small problems, of course, but I think that the first half was good from us and only (Sergio) Llull surprised us in the first period but like I said, we were controlling the rhythm of the game. In the second half, we didn't have the same performance. Madrid reacted, attacked us mainly with offensive rebounds - they got nine in the second half and only one in the first half. Offensive rebounds and easy baskets in transition allowed them to feel more confident. At the same time, our team didn't work well on offense. It is obvious that offensively, our second half was not good. We missed a lot of layups and fast break opportunities in crucial moments. I don't believe that this difference shows how the game really was, but this is basketball. If you relax for 2-3 minutes, you can lose by 18 instead of 8. I want to congratulate Madrid for the win. They deserved it and played better than us in the second half.”

Players

AYON, GUSTAVO
Real Madrid
"This is a very important win. With the new format, every win counts and is very important not to lose at home. We expected a tough game and this is what it was. The final score does not reflect how tough the game was, but if you can win by more points, we may be thankful if we tie at the end of the season. We put a lot of intensity on defense and that allows you to play a better offense, run and have more space. It is the key in the EuroLeague and if we keep playing defense like that, we will have good chances to do well."
LLULL, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"A lot of things are making me play well. I have a lot of confidence and am working hard every day. Being appreciated by our fans and the confidence I get from my teammates and coaches help, too. I try to give everything I have on the court and show my best version. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you don't, but the most important thing is to help the team win. It was important to start with a win. We knew it wouldn't be easy - Olympiacos is always a tough opponent but the team did a good job. We were really solid all 40 minutes long. It is a first step - we have a long way to go."
PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS
Olympiacos Piraeus
“We had a great first half. I thought we controlled the game. We didn't allow them to do what they like, run and score and get second-chance points. But then in the second half we stopped doing that. We had turnovers and other bad possessions. We allowed them to play their game, their fans got into it, they had more energy, and then it was tough for us to stop them. That's pretty much how we ended up losing. It was also bad that we were losing by 10 in the closing minutes, we could have cut it to six or so, but we let it go the other way, up to 18. And this is the EuroLeague. The point difference might matter in the end. We have to concentrate better.”