2015-16Top 16Round 1
Olympiacos Piraeus 74
FC Barcelona Lassa 62
December 29, 2015 CET: 20:00
Local time: 21:00 PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM

Spanoulis sparks Olympiacos to big win over Barcelona

Olympiacos Piraeus started the Top 16 in style by beating FC Barcelona Lassa 74-62 at Peace & Friendship Stadium in their Top 16 opener. Vassilis Spanoulis starred with 11 points and 9 assists to lead the Reds, who finished the first half on a 16-2 tear to lead 39-26 and added a 10-0 third-quarter run to take care of business. The hosts also outrebounded Barcelona 41-30. Othello Hunter added 10 points for the hosts, who featured nine players with at least 6 points. Ante Tomic led Barcelona with 17 points, Tomas Satoransky added 12 and Pau Ribas totaled 8 points and 8 assists in defeat.

First quarter: Papapetrou shines early for Reds

Tomic got the visitors on the scoreboard before Ioannis Papapetrou buried a three for the Reds. Juston Doellman made a tough basket for Barcelona. Tomic took a seat after just three minutes with 2 fouls. A run of turnovers on both ends slowed the game. Satoransky split free throws before Stratos Perperoglou nailed a triple for a 3-8 Barcelona advantage midway through the quarter. Papapetrou’s offensive rebound and free throws got the hosts going. Juan Carlos Navarro drew a foul and added a free throw, but Barcelona had no answer for Papapetrou, who sank 3 free throws over two possession – both thanks to Spanoulis assists – to bring the Reds within 8-9. Georgios Printezis became the hosts’ first scorer not named Papapetrou when he scored over Doellman. A Pau Ribas triple and Samardo Samuels layup put Barcelona up 10-14. Daniel Hackett scored on the baseline and Ioannis Athenaiou added free throws to tie the game at 14-14 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Spanoulis helps hosts surge ahead

Samuels split free throws to push Barcelona back ahead. Shawn James scored with a tip-in and on the break with Dimitrios Agravanis rejecting Samuels in between. James’s baby hook made it 20-15. Tomic’s basket inside and Brad Oleson’s jumper closed the gap to 1. Tomic showed his moves inside to put Barcelona back on top, but Spanoulis was about the take charge. The Olympiacos guard hit a deep three, though Aleksandar Vezenkov answered with a three off an inbounds play for Barcelona. Spanoulis brought the fans to their feet with a tough layup for a 25-24 lead midway through the quarter. Printezis added to the lead and D.J. Strawberry nailed a triple for a 6-point edge. Hunter scored inside before Shane Lawal found a cutting Satoransky for a slam. Spanoulis banked in a tough shot to keep the Reds rolling. His assist on a pick-and-roll to Hunter gave the hosts a double-digit lead. Hackett beat the buzzer with a three for a 39-26 halftime lead.

Third quarter: Olympiacos builds on promising lead

Tomic split free throws, but committed his third foul at the other end on Printezis’s three-point play. Satoransky darted to the hoop for a tough layup and Doellman added a jumper. Tomic displayed his skills in the post to complete a basket-plus-foul to bring the visitors within 42-34. Vangelis Mantzaris kept Olympiacos rolling with a three-pointer and Spanoulis hit a nifty layup. Agravanis came off the bench to sink a triple and a Hunter’s hook shot capped a 10-0 run that made it 52-34 and prompted a Barcelona timeout. Ribas tried to right the Barcelona ship with free throws and Oleson sank a three. Hunter took a pass from Strawberry to make a reverse layup and after Samuels split free throws, a Strawberry jumper made it 56-40 at the end of the quarter.

Fourth quarter: Strawberry and co. cruise to victory

Neither team scored during the first two minutes of the quarter, which played into the home side’s hands. Tomic scored first inside; it was the third quarter in which he scored the first points on the night. Nikola Milutinov responded inside for his first basket. Strawberry took charge with a drawn foul and free throw made on the break and then a jumper to extend the difference to 61-42. After a timeout, Ribas buried a three, Alex Abrines came up with a steal and Tomic scored inside to give Barcelona hope. But the Reds used a timeout and Hackett nailed a triple to practically ice the game with four minutes to go. Samuels added free throws and Spanoulis made a layup. Abrines got on the scoreboard with a three-pointer, but Spanoulis found Hunter for a layup. Tomic and Satoransky lowered the deficit to 12 with two minutes to go. Satoransky further brought Barcelona to 68-58, but threes by Agravanis and Mantzaris secured a comfortable victory.

Vassilis Spanoulis - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB15
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI; VIATOR, EDDIE; KOLJENSIC, MILOS
Attendance: 11144
By Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus14251718
FC Barcelona Lassa14121422
End of Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus14395674
FC Barcelona Lassa14264062
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 JAMES, SHAWN 5:03 6 3/5     2   2           1   5
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 20:25 10 5/8       5 5 1   1     3   9
6 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 19:05 8 0/1 1/1 5/7 1 6 7 1   2     4 3 10
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 24:50 11 4/5 1/5   1   1 9   3     1 2 14
8 STRAWBERRY, DJ 19:27 8 2/3 1/1 1/2 2 3 5 3   1     1 2 14
9 TSAIRELIS, MICHALIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 MILUTINOV, NIKOLA 13:16 2 1/2       2 2       1   5 2 1
15 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 20:01 7 3/7 0/2 1/1 2 3 5 3       1   3 11
16 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS 20:19 6   2/4   1 2 3 2   1 2     1 11
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 17:50 6 0/2 2/4     3 3 1   2     2 1 3
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 26:52 8 1/3 2/4     1 1 1 2 1     3 2 6
27 ATHINAIOU, IOANNIS 12:52 2   0/3 2/2   2 2 1   1     2 2 1
Team           4 1 5               5
Totals 200:00 74 19/36 9/24 9/12 13 28 41 22 2 12 3 1 22 18 90
        52.8% 37.5% 75%
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
FC Barcelona Lassa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 DOELLMAN, JUSTIN 18:18 4 2/5 0/3   3 1 4   1   1   2 1 3
8 RIBAS, PAU 28:51 8 0/3 2/4 2/2   2 2 8 1 2     2 4 14
9 LAWAL, SHANE 4:51   0/1     1   1 1 1       2    
10 ABRINES, ALEX 10:49 3   1/2   1 1 2 1 1       1 2 7
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 15:18 1   0/5 1/2   1 1 1           3  
13 SATORANSKY, TOMAS 25:23 12 4/7 1/3 1/2 1 2 3 3   1   1 2 1 9
14 VEZENKOV, SASHA 13:39 3   1/2     1 1   1       1   3
20 ERIKSSON, MARCUS 8:05         1   1 1 1       1   2
23 SAMUELS, SAMARDO 22:44 7 1/6   5/10 2 5 7     3   2 2 6 3
24 OLESON, BRAD 14:53 5 1/2 1/1         1         1   4
33 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 16:45 3 0/1 1/3 0/2   2 2 1 1       1 1 2
44 TOMIC, ANTE 20:24 16 7/10   2/3 1 2 3 1         3 4 17
Team           2 1 3     2         1
Totals 200:00 62 15/35 7/23 11/21 12 18 30 18 7 8 1 3 18 22 65
        42.9% 30.4% 52.4%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It is a very important win and a good start in the Top 16. I think that we played better than Barcelona and deserved to beat them, since we put our tempo through the defense and forced them to score only 62 points, instead of their average of 82.2 per game. We were under pressure in the first quarter and didn’t play so well in offense, but our defense didn’t allow them to score and kept us competitive. We took the momentum in the second quarter, outrebounded them, played an aggressive game and showed our potential. I think that we can improve our game in several parts, in both the individual and team level. Barcelona played the clasico before coming here and they spent lots of energy, but they have the talent and the quality to reach their expectations."
PASCUAL, XAVI
FC Barcelona Lassa
"Congratulations to Olympiacos for its win. They were the best team tonight. The game was decided in three minutes - the last three minutes of the second quarter. It is easy to analyze the game. They grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, which means Olympiacos had 9 field goal attempts more than us, and that allowed them to get the lead at halftime. We controlled the defensive boards better and took 11 more shots than Olympiacos, but we lost because of our low shooting percentages - free throws, two-point and three-point shots. I truly believe that it all started by the 7 free throw attempts we missed in the first quarter. That would have allowed us to get the lead and play a different game."

Players

AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
"It is clear that the victory is based on defense, great energy and desire. We fought for every ball and showed great determination. This win is very important, but it is just the first in a long race. There is no doubt that we can improve some parts of our performance, even in defense. I didn't like the fact that we allowed them to score easily in the last minutes. Now we have to leave it behind and get prepared for the next game."
HACKETT, DANIEL
Olympiacos Piraeus
"We played a great defensive game and opened the Top 16 in the best possible way. Coach Sfairopoulos and the staff prepared an excellent plan and we implemented it. I feel blessed to play here in such an atmosphere created by the fans, who push us in a unique way."
VEZENKOV, SASHA
FC Barcelona Lassa
"Olympiacos was superior in every part of the game and deserved to win, maybe with a bigger margin. They were faster and tougher than us, had much more passion, heart and determination. They can choke any opponent on defense and they did it. On Sunday we played a superb game in Madrid, but tonight we didn't have the mental power to react. However this is not the end of the world. Let's get back to work, stay together and try to improve our game. This Top 16 group is very tough and the key point is to defend your home court."
PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We played very bad in the second quarter and then it was impossible to catch them. Olympiacos showed a fighting spirit, which is their trademark. They outrebounded us and didn't allow us to play our game. We spent a lot of energy on Sunday against Real Madrid and lacked it tonight. However it is just the first game and I am sure that we will recover soon, win the home games and have some big victories on the road. Regarding my return to Piraeus , I am always very happy to be back here and to be treated as a friend."
ABRINES, ALEX
FC Barcelona Lassa
"It was a tough game. They made the difference at the end in the second quarter, when they grabbed 6 or 7 offensive rebounds. They got a lead that we were not able to overcome. We now face a very important week, with our first Top 16 home game against Khimki."
No results found.