By Antonis Stroggylakis/ @AStroggylakis
One of the most notable game-winning aspects of Olympiacos in last night’s victory against CSKA Moscow, was the big help that came off the bench.
A solid amount of that assistance arrived in the face of Dimitris Agravanis. The 22-year-old Greek power forward dropped 8 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in less than 15 minutes while providing precious hustle and physicality in defense when needed.
Plus… he was the one to hit the halftime buzzer-beater from beyond the arc. An important bucket, not only since it allowed the Reds to remain close to their opponents (40 – 33) but also because it provided a psychological boost to him and his teammates.
“For sure everyone of us has a good psychology,” Agravanis told Eurohoops. “And it’s not affected by if we make one or two good shots. Because tomorrow it’s a totally different game. You can’t get stuck on one good performance you had. It doesn’t matter. You must continue, you have a Final ahead of you and you must help your team win it.”
Everyone in Olympiacos is focused on the max ahead of the Final. Actually, last night’s win vs CSKA wasn’t even celebrated according to Agravanis’ teammate Giorgos Printezis.
“Exactly”, said Agravanis. “We didn’t celebrate at all last night. We rested, now we finished our last practice ahead of the Final. We are going to get some rest now and we are hoping to be celebrating tomorrow night.
Agravanis is a “draft & stash” player of the Atlanta Hawks and among the people that watched him making a notable impact on the floor last night from the seats of “Sinan Erdem” was Mike Budenhozler.
How does the Greek forward feel about the presence of the Hawks head coach in the tournament?
“It’s something that definitely gives me an extra motivation as well,” he said to Eurohoops. “But right now all I care about is Olympiacos. And how to win the trophy.”