By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos reacted after falling back 1 – o in the EuroLeague quarterfinal series against Zalgiris Kaunas by winning 79 – 68 in Game 2 and tying the series.
Following a balanced game for 30 minutes, the Reds were the dominant team in the fourth quarter. With the score 54 – 54 at the end of the third period, Olympiacos hit a flurry of 3s by Vangelis Mantzaris, Kostas Papanikolaou and Giorgos Printezis to gain a 9-point lead with six minutes left to play.
Zalgiris tried to react but Sarunas Jasikevicius’ players had problems connecting to the basket against the physical and quite energetic opposing defense.
Still, with the score 72 – 59, the Lithuanian side found an opportunity to become dangerous after Brandon Davies and Arturas Milaknis scored 5 points in one offense after an unsportsmanlike on the American big. But Oly had no suicidal tendencies and two free throws by captain Vassilis Spanoulis along with a dunk by Ioannis Papapetrou sealed the match in their favor.
Jamel McLean shined for Olympiacos in the absence of Nikola Milutinov with a game-high 21 points plus 27 PIR. Spanoulis contributed 17 points along with four assists, but the unsung heroes for the Reds were definitely Kostas Papanikolaou (5 points) and George Bogris (3 rebounds) who insisted to play despite injury problems. They both inspired their teammates with their passion on both ends.
For Zalgiris, Brandon Davies had 20 points and Vasilije Micic 13 plus 8 assists.