By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia center Vincent Poirier saw his team getting a nine-point lead against Olympiacos early in the fourth period and then pushing back their opponents’ comeback to go up by four with one minute to go. It looked like the Basques could escape Piraeus with a grand victory in their bags but ultimately, the Reds forced the overtime and were the ones to smile when all was said and done.
“It’s just tough. We should have won this one,” Poirier told Eurohoops. “We didn’t last in the end.”
With the score 77 – 80, 13 seconds left in regulation and ball on Olympiacos’ hands, Baskonia chose clean defense instead of sending an opposing player to the free throw line. The decision didn’t pay off since Kostas Papanikolaou drilled the 3-pointer off the backboard and sent the game to the extra period.
“I don’t know. We let him shoot like that,” Poirier said to Eurohoops when asked if his team should have fouled during this possession. “If he misses, we win the game. I don’t know. It’s just what it is.”
Poirier thinks that Baskonia could have avoided allowing Olympiacos a chance to tie the score if they prevented their opponents from making some precious second-chance buckets.
“We let them score easily. They got some offensive rebounds. That’s the key. That’s how they came back in the game. They played at home. They made big shots and they won. We should have closed the game before. Lock the rebound. Unfortunately, they won,” Poirer commented. The French big guy was fouled out with three minutes left in regulation and Baskonia up 71 – 74.
Before heading to the bench for the remainder of the match, Poirier had notched 17 points and 12 rebounds for a team-high 25 PIR. If Baskonia held on to its lead, he would’ve been the game’s MVP.
“Toko [Shengelia] isn’t here. One less big guy. I try to take more responsibilities and perform well on both ends of the floor. I have to have a stronger presence in the game.”
Baskonia is now 7 – 10 and below the playoff zone. Despite this record, Poirier is confident that his team will enter postseason to get an opportunity of playing in the Final Four that is held at their home court in Vitoria.
“We still have a lot of games to play,” Poirier said to Eurohoops. “We showed we can have big games away from home. We need to stay focused and believe that we can do it. Hopefully, we can make the playoffs.”
Photo: EuroLeague