By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos confirmed that forward Ioannis Papapetrou has yet to recover from a foot injury and will thus sit out of Thursday’s (1/2) game against Fenerbahce for Round 21 of the EuroLeague regular season.
“Ioannis is in pain and hasn’t practiced yet,” Sfairopoulos said in today’s pre-game press conference. “He’s better but not ready yet.”
This will be the third consecutive EuroLeague game that Papapetrou misses, following his team’s losses to Khimki Moscow and Crvena Zvezda on the road. The Greek forward averages 6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game in EuroLeague.
Regarding the upcoming match vs. the defending EuroLeague champions, Sfairopoulos mentioned the following:
“It’s a pivotal game. We want to win to return to victories and recover. Everyone in the team knows the importance of this match and the most important thing is to play with passion, heart, and will. They (Fenerbahce) have 5 wins in a row and have acquired consistency. We must neutralize their main strengths, play well on offense, run the floor and read the game well.”
Olympiacos, that won the first-leg game in Istanbul has a 13 – 7 record while Fenerbahce stands at 14 – 6 and the second place in the EuroLeague standings.