Regular Season
- November 04, 2009
- PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM
Local time: 7:00 PM
TV
CET: 6:00 PM
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Head Coaches
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GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
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Olympiacos head coach
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“Lietuvos Rytas started excellent the 2009-10 Euroleague and proved that it is in very good shape. We have to play against a team that plays fast and has a lot of shooting options. Our goal is to defend against their shots, to keep our concentration in defense and try to have a fast rhythm. In our last Greek League game, we played against Maroussi without spectators, due to a sanction, and now we are looking forward to having their support.”
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KURTINAITIS, RIMAS
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Lietuvos Rytas head coach
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"Although we didn't have much time to practice thoroughly, I can say we prepared for this game quite carefully. We have watched the tapes and analyzed what type of game Olympiacos usually plays. Olympiacos is a very powerful team that has won many titles in the past. Moreover, they usually play great at home, where they are supported by great fans. After they lost in Malaga, they must feel a bit of pressure from both the fans and the board. Then again, they will try hard to make up for it in front of their own crowd. We expect a tough game, obviously. If we win in Greece, Olympiacos will have to fight much harder for a spot in the Top 16."
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Players
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VUJCIC, NIKOLA
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Olympiacos center
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“They won two games and they are a team that deserves respect and a lot of attention. Our job is not an easy one, because they shoot a lot of three pointers and they can beat anybody.”
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JOMANTAS, ARTURAS
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Lietuvos Rytas forward
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"There's not a lot to tell about Olympiacos except that they have many stars on their team. We'll see: I can only say we'll have to play both good defence and offence. I think their weakest link is their defence. They have individually strong guys who mostly want to attack the rim and not to defend it. Also, quite often one of the players suddenly doesn't care about set plays and tries to beat the rim on his own. We'll try to use that".
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Olympiacos Piraeus returns home after suffering its first loss of the new season ready to challenge Group B co-leader Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Wednesday night. The Reds are coming off an 86-68 drubbing at Unicaja in which they also lost All-Euroleague big man Ioannis Bourousis for several weeks. Head coach Panagiotis Giannakis’s men will have to regroup quickly to be ready for upstart L. Rytas, which led by Euroleague MVP for October Bojan Popovic, has been one of the biggest surprises of the season so far. L. Rytas comes off a 62-69 win at Entente Orleanaise in which Popovic produced 11 points and 9 assists and backcourt mate Martynas Gecevicus – who is second in the league in three-pointers made with 9 – scored 16. The L. Rytas backcourt will face its biggest challenge yet this week as Olympiacos is loaded in both quality and quantity at every position. It’s not only the depth, but also the many different looks and styles the Red have that could trouble L. Rytas. Popovic, with Vidas Ginevicius backing him up, will need to contend with Patrick Beverley and Theo Papaloukas, while Gecevicius and Steponas Babrauskas must stay sharp at both ends of the floor against Milos Teodosic, Von Wafer and Yotam Halperin. At small forward, Josh Childress will need to be weary of the visiting Arturas Jomantas, whose experience, athleticism and fearless play could be the recipe to slow down the Reds’ weapon. Without Bourousis, Nikola Vujcic will take on a more central role in the paint along with Andreas Glyniadakis and Sofoklis Schortsianitis. Aron Baynes and Dejan Borovnjak, who are short on experience, but high on energy, will lock horns with the Reds in the paint. At power forward, the home team will send top scorer Linas Kleiza and Panos Vasilopoulos against Donatas Zavackas and Milko Bjelica. Before the season this game may have seemed like a mismatch, especially in Greece, however L. Rytas’s strong start has turned this into a pivotal Group B clash. Popovic has been the keys to his team’s success thus far, not only with his passes to create open shots but also his on-court leadership. L. Rytas’s hopes this week could rest on how he handles the waves of Red players coming at him and how much energy Popovic has left in the tank by the fourth quarter.
REFEREES: Daniel Hierrezuelo, Srdan Dozai, Zdravko Rutesic
GAME NOTES
Olympiacos
Forward Linas Kleiza and Lietuvos Rytas swingman Arturas Jomantas were teammates this summer on the Lithuanian national team at EuroBasket 20009.
Kleiza, Jomantas and Steponas Babrauskas, also of L. Rytas, helped Lithuania to a silver medal at the 2003 World Under-19 Championships and a bronze medal at the 2004 European Under-20 Championships.
Center Nikola Vujcic is 6 offensive rebounds behind his former Maccabi teammate Marcus Goree for 10th place on the career offensive rebounding chart. Vujcic currently has 238 career offensive rebounds.
Theo Papaloukas is closing in on a spot among the best 20 career scorers in the Euroleague. Papaloukas now has 1,397 points – 17 away from 20th place.
Lietuvos Rytas
Bojan Popovic and Olympiacos guard Milos Teodosic Milos were teammates during the 2004-05 season at FMP.
Popovic was named Euroleague MVP of the Month for the first time in his career after leading L. Rytas to a 2-0 start with 11 points and a league-best 9.5 assists per game.
Martynas Gecevicius has yet to miss a free throw in a Euroleague game, shooting 11 for 11 from the line in 20 career Euroleague appearances.
Gecevicius has made at least one three-pointer in five straight Euroleague games and is shooting 66.7% from downtown over that span.
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Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Euroleague.net
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Stats Comparisions: Teams and players
| 81.0 |
Pts. |
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KLEIZA, LINAS |
16.5 |
Pts. |
18.5 |
GECEVICIUS, MARTYNAS |
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Pts. |
73.0 |
| 61.90 % |
2FG% |
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HALPERIN, YOTAM |
100.00 % |
2FG% |
63.64 % |
BJELICA, MILKO |
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2FG% |
49.23 % |
| 40.00 % |
3FG% |
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BEVERLEY, PATRICK |
100.00 % |
3FG% |
64.29 % |
GECEVICIUS, MARTYNAS |
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3FG% |
38.30 % |
| 32.0 |
Rebounds |
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KLEIZA, LINAS |
8.5 |
Rebounds |
5.5 |
BOROVNJAK, DEJAN |
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Rebounds |
38.0 |
| 16.5 |
Assist. |
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PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS |
5.0 |
Assist. |
9.5 |
POPOVIC, BOJAN |
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Assist. |
16.0 |
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