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.”