By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With five seconds left in the game between Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus and the score tied at 87 – 87, Kostas Sloukas drove to the hoop against two-time DPOY Edy Tavares, stopped his dribble while his opponent was waiting for him to pull for the layup, and disposed of the big man’s defense to make the basket.
It was an ingenius move and all that Olympiacos needed to escape Madrid with the 89 – 87 win and remain undefeated in EuroLeague after three games. Real had three seconds to tie the score or get the win but a long hook shot by Tavares went off target. The Blancos, that couldn’t combine their first home match with a victory, are now 1-2.
“I think I tried to be aggressive in the possession,” Sloukas said. “It’s the last seconds and it’s crucial. So I tried to be aggressive. Sometimes I score, sometimes I’m not. These are things I work every day on in practice. Today, OK I scored a difficult shot and I’m proud of our team win.”
Sloukas, who finished with 14 points plus seven assists, had already made a go-ahead layup in front of Tavares and then hit two free throws to put Olympiacos up 87 – 85 with 32 seconds remaining. Sergio Llull made the game-tying layup before the Reds’ winning play.
Sasha Vezenkov had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Olympiacos for his third straight double-double. His team trailed for the entire fourth quarter before the last two minutes and was down 75 – 81 with 4:16 on the game clock after a triple by Llull. Joel Bolomboy (11 points) and a triple by Giannoulis Larentzakis put the Greek team closer before Sloukas took over.
Five players scored in double figures for Real. Dzanan Musa had dropped 17 points while Lull and Tavares added 14 apiece, the latter also grabbing six boards. Guerschon Yabusele had 13 points and Petr Cornelie 11.
Real went ahead 37 – 29 late in the second period but Olympiacos caught up to close halftime with a minor deficit (38-37). The third quarter featured six lead changes and the game remained close until the finale.
“I think it was a very balanced game, played point to point against a quality opponent, a historic team in the Final Four that started the competition in a very good way,” Real coach Chus Mateo said. “They have been playing together for a long time and know each other well. In the end, small details surely defined that the victory went one way or another. We were there until the end, fighting for the win. We have to keep working in the same direction but obviously, we are upset for losing at home. We lost too many rebounds and too many loose balls that went their way. These are details that make the difference, win or lose by 2 points. Those 50-50 balls and rebounds that we missed, with us touching the basketball but them getting it, decided the game. That difference, in balanced games, is always noticed.”
Pleased for the win and hoping for an improved performance
Olympiacos Piraeus coach Giorgos Bartzokas was naturally satisfied with the result but found plenty of elements that his team can correct ahead of the match at Baskonia Friday (21/10).
“I am happy for him [Sloukas],” Bartzokas said on his star player who hit the winning basket. “It was a crucial shot, of course, a game-winning shot. But I have to tell that we were really patient in the game although we didn’t perform well. I believe that we could play a much better game, but we were playing for our chance [to win] the game. It was a tight game and we had answers in everything that Real Madrid put against us and finally, we had our chance with this fantastic shot by Kostas, and we took the game. It was a very important win on the road, especially here in Madrid but of course, as I always say, it is just the beginning of the season. Sasha [Vezenkov] is Sasha. He is a guy that has 1,000 ways to score: offensive rebounds, transition, floaters, three-point shots, drives… it is always like this. But he is working hard and that’s why he plays like this.
“It was a very interesting game, as everybody expected,” Bartzokas added in the presser. “A tight game with a high score. Both teams played hard for the win and finally, the details decided the game. One or two good defensive plays that we had in the last minutes and of course, this winning shot by Kostas Sloukas finally decided the game. We didn’t play well today, especially defensively, and of course, we didn’t shoot the ball because our percentage today was really low, 28% for threes. We just made 6 three-point shots, although we had a lot of open shots. But we believed that if we stayed close to the score, finally we could have an opportunity to win this game, as it finally happened. Congratulations to our players, it was a big win, especially here in Madrid, it is always difficult. But we need to immediately forget it because on Friday, we have one more demanding game.”