By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
With Olympiacos down 0 – 1 in the EuroLeague quarterfinals against Zalgiris Kaunas and his frontline buddy Nikola Milutinov out with a knee injury, Jamel McLean knew he had to step up big time in Game 2.
And so he did. McLean finished the match with a game-high 21 points (on a more than solid 8/13 shooting) plus four rebounds and three assists for 26 PIR as his team beat the Lithuanian side to travel to Kaunas with the series tied 1-1.
“I got lucky. The ball was bouncing my way,” McLean told Eurohoops. “There was a big pressure. Especially in the game without Niko (Milutinov). Everyone has to step up to fill the void and I’m just happy that the team did a good job, being focused and playing hard.”
McLean and the rest of his squad were already highly motivated but they also found some extra inspiration by Kostas Papanikolaou and Giorgos Bogris. Papanikolaou had yet to recover from tendonitis and Bogris was recently diagnosed with a meniscus injury, yet they felt they couldn’t stay out in such a critical battle.
They insisted on playing, stepped on the floor and fired up their teammates with their passion and energy on both ends.
“There’s really no words for that. For them to do that and sacrifice their bodies when they aren’t 100% ready. For the team and for the playoffs? It’s something you can’t explain. Not only they played. They played hard.”I’m happy being a part of a team where guys self-sacrifice themselves in a crucial time like this.”