By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The feeling of beating Olympiacos in Piraeus isn’t a strange one for Beno Udrih.
Even before Zalgiris Kaunas prevailed over the Greek powerhouse in Game 1 of the EuroLeague quarterfinals, the Slovenian guard was counting two wins in a row against the Greek powerhouse. The one with Zalgiris at the last match of the regular season but also a rather memorable performance when he was playing with Olimpija Ljubljana back in 2002.
Udrih had actually scored 29 points in the latter to, more or less, sign the elimination of Olympiacos from Final Four contention. Now he wants to see history repeating itself, in a different but also similar, in a way, manner.
“Well, I hope the streak will continue like that on Friday,” Udrih told Eurohoops, following the victory of his team in Game 1.
After falling behind 23 – 8 in the first quarter, Zalgiris bounced back by putting tremendous amounts of energy and hustle on the floor, winning the battle of rebounds, forcing turnovers and shutting down the predictable offense of a heavily Vassilis Spanoulis-dependent Olympiacos. They erased that deficit, became threatening and ultimately won in overtime.
“You know… we just stay focused,” Udrih said. “We came into the game a little bit out of everything. Olympiacos is a great team, they have been in the playoffs for 6-7 years in a row, almost. They’ve won championships. They have a great reputation to always have a really good team.We just had to put our heads down. Stay focused, stay with the plan.”
“We slowly and slowly cut the difference. We knew at the end of the game that if we were close we were going to have ourselves a chance to win the game. (Vassilis) Spanoulis made a great shot to tie the game, but in overtime, we made some good plays. Some good defensive plays, especially. And that’s what won the game. Defense,” he added.
It was definitely a mighty win for Zalgiris, the team’s first in the EuroLeague playoffs, since their championship run in 1999.
But now comes the tricky part for Udrih and his teammates. How to remain fully concentrated in the next games, especially against a team like Olympiacos that has the playoffs know-how, quality, and players who are experts on reacting, especially when they perform with their backs against the wall.
As one of the most experienced players in his team, with a pedigree that includes a 13-year stint in the NBA, Udrih has a thought or two on what Zalgiris should do to stay unfazed and “locked” on target.
“I did say it in the locker rooms before the coach came in. And the coach told us as well. We know that everyone says we are a big surprise. We got to keep thinking that we got to stay focused and do what we have to do. We can’t focus on what Olympiacos has to do. We have to stay humble. Yes, we won one game but it’s only one game. We have to win two more to get to the Final Four. We have to forget about this win. We definitely made many mistakes. And so did Olympiacos. They will watch the video and prepare for us. So we’ll try to fix a couple of things. Hopefully start the game a bit better. And hopefully, at the end of the game, we are close and get another win.”
How does Udrih himself feel in the prospect of making the EuroLeague Final Four for the first time in his career?
“We are not there yet. So I don’t want to spoil anything by thinking about the Final Four. We aren’t not thinking about it. Two wins more to get there. We got one today and now we’re going to focus on Friday. It’s great to be in the position we are in but we should stay humble and see what happens on Friday.”