May 24, 2013
Playoffs Game 1 - March 24, 2009 CET: 20:45 Local time: 21:45 - PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM
Olympiacos 88 - 79 Real Madrid
PLAYOFFS, GAME 1
GROUP Quarterfinal 1
GROUP Quarterfinal 2
GROUP Quarterfinal 3
GROUP Quarterfinal 4

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
5-1 Top 16 5-1
6-4 Regular Season 6-4
11-5 Overall 11-5

Referees

Crew Chief
VOJINOVIC, MILIJA, Serbia
Referee
CEREBUCH, GUERRINO, Italy
Umpire
JUNGEBRAND, CARL, Finland

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
81.9 Points 77.8
34.4 Rebounds 32.3
9.4 O. Rebounds 11.9
25.0 D. Rebounds 20.4
16.4 Assists 13.4
8.6 Steals 7.8
2.8 Blocks 1.7
14.9 Turnovers 12.8
58.7 % 2PT 52.2 %
37.0 % 3PT 35.1 %
67.1 % FT 76.6 %
93.8 Index 83.0
Team Stats - Olympiacos
Team Stats - Real Madrid

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
12.0 / Bourousis Points 12.6 / Reyes
7.4 / Bourousis Rebounds 5.9 / Reyes
2.3 / Bourousis OR 2.0 / Reyes
5.2 / Bourousis DR 3.9 / Reyes
5.0 / Papaloukas Assists 2.8 / Lopez
1.3 / HALPERIN, YOTAM Steals 1.1 / Reyes
0.9 / VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS Blocks 0.5 / Hosley
2.6 / Papaloukas Turnovers 1.9 / Reyes
82.0 % / Papaloukas 2PT 64.9 % / Llull
51.4 % / HALPERIN, YOTAM 3PT 50.0 % / Reyes
100.0 % / Teodosic FT 97.5 % / BULLOCK, LOUIS
15.9 / Bourousis Index 15.0 / Reyes
Team Roster - Olympiacos
Team Roster - Real Madrid

THE TAKE

A pair of Euroleague superpowers looking to get back to the Final Four square off in Piraeus on Tuesday when Olympiacos hosts Real Madrid for Game 1 of their best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. The two teams were among the best in the Top 16, both going 5-1. But while the Reds won Group E by beating Tau Ceramica in the road in the finale, Madrid finished second in Group F by virtue of a tiebreaker. The two teams know each other quite well. Not only did they meet twice in the Top 16 last season, but Olympiacos features swingman Michalis Pelekanos, who played for Madrid last year, while Real boasts to players that shined in the Greek League last season: Jeremiah Massey with Aris and Kennedy Winston with Panathinaikos. The two teams are experienced and deep, which could lead to an unforgettable series. The Reds are led by point guard and former Euroleague MVP Theo Papaloukas, even though he is his team’s sixth man. Yotam Halperin, Lynn Greer and Jannero Pargo complete the Olympiacos backcourt that will square off against Raul Lopez, Sergio Llull, Pepe Sanchez and Louis Bullock. The matchup between scorers Pargo and Bullock could be the most explosive of them all. Now back at full strength, Josh Childress is an important cog at forward for the Reds, where he teams with Georgios Printezis and Panos Vasilopoulos against Alex Mumbru, Axel Hervelle, Marko Tomas and Winston. In the paint, Felipe Reyes, Tomas Van den Spiegel and Massey will try to disrupt Olympiacos’s Nikola Vujcic, Ioannis Bourousis and Zoran Erceg. Vujcic has been at his best lately, but facing the taller and longer Van den Spiegel could stifle his scoring and passing abilities. The establishment of momentum and the ability of both benches to contribute as expected could be deciding factors in Game 1. Finding a guard tall enough to handle Papaloukas will be important for the Whites, while trusting the less experienced Erceg to make up the minutes of the suspended Sofoklis Schortsanitis as the only real big man off the bench could impact Olympiacos, especially if Vujcic or Bourousis fall into foul trouble. Although Olympiacos is always favored at home, Madrid’s record on the road is not too shabby either and this game and series could be a back-and-forth encounter that goes the distance.

GAME NOTES

Olympiacos
  • Center Nikola Vujcic has returned to the elite level that saw him named to the All-Euroleague first and second teams five times. Over his past four Euroleague games, Vujcic has averaged 21.3 points on 64.1% two-point shooting , 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
  • Point guard Theo Papaloukas has dished a minimum of 4 assists in every game this season and is tied for second in the Euroleague in that category with 5.0 per game.
  • Swingman Michalis Pelekanos injured his elbow in the Greek League on Saturday and will miss at least the first game of the quarterfinals series.
  • Pelekanos played for Real Madrid last season and saw action in 17 Euroleague games with the club. He was a teammate of six current Madrid players under head coach Joan Plaza.
  • Big man Sofoklis Schortsanitis will miss the Quarterfinal Playoffs series after Olympiacos suspended him for one month due to disciplinary reasons.
  • Olympiacos clinched a spot in the 2008 Quarterfinal Playoffs after beating Real Madrid in the Top 16 finale 72-63 in Piraeus. Panos Vasilopoulos sparked the Reds with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in that win.
Real Madrid
  • Guard Louis Bullock has made at least 1 three-pointer in nine straight Euroleague games.(21 for 49)
  • Bullock is 3 triples away from becoming just the seventh player to make 250 three-pointers in his Euroleague Basketball career.
  • Center Tomas Van den Spiegel enters this week’s games in 13th place on the Euroleague Basketball career shots blocked list with 75. He is 3 away from reaching Eurelijus Zukauskas and Tiago Splitter, who are tied for 10th place.
  • Forward Alex Mumbru established his Euroleague career-high in points with 21 against Olympiacos in November 2002. Madrid won that game 73-66.
  • Guard Raul Lopez set his Euroleague career high in assists against Olympiacos in December 2000. Lopez came off the bench and dished 9 assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Reds won 91-84.
  • Ten players in this series took part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Madrid’s Felipe Reyes, Raul Lopez and Alex Mumbru won silver medals as members of the Spanish national team. Marko Tomas of Madrid played for Croatia. Olympiacos’s Theo Papaloukas, Ioanis Bourousis, Panos Vasilpopoulos, Georgios Printezis, Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Michalis Pelekanos played for Greece under head coach Panagiotis Giannakis.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"We start a playoffs series and there are some important things that we have to take care of. I should say that control of the rhythm, rebounds and patience will be the main factors for both teams. Real Madrid is a team that wants to achieve big results and we respect them a lot, especially for their style of playing. From our side I expect our fans to have patience during the games and keep supporting us. The home court advantage is important, but our main goal is to create a team that will not depend either on the home court, or the opponents."
PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"We are travelling to Athens with the goal of getting one win in the two games we will be playing there against Olympiacos, a great team which has earned the right to be considered as one of the top candidates to lift the Euroleague trophy this season. We know the difficulty of the challenge we have in front of us, but we must trust in our abilities and ourselves because each time that we show faith in what we do, we are a very dangerous team, capable of beating anyone. Apart from that, it will be important to try to overcome the pressure of the Friendship and Peace Stadium, an arena where the fans live basketball like in no other place, and who stay by their team until the end."

Players

BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos
"Real Madrid is a big size and glorious club, so it deserves a lot of respect. They are here and they didn't came by accident or because of their luck. They have had some players for years and a specific basketball philosophy. They also proved that they have the know-how to take results on the road, thanks to their experience and personality. Sure, we count on the home court advantage and our fans can help us a lot, but such a series is not an easy one. We need to make three steps to go to Berlin, but maybe we must play five games. The most important thing is to stay together and look forward after each game."
MUMBRU, ALEX
Real Madrid
"We're coming to Athens to play against a great team that has a top notch roster and who has been super tough at home this season. We all know this is going to be difficult, but we have to do everything in our hands to rack up a win in Greece so we would have the option to solve things in Madrid, which is what we all want. In order to do taht, we must play our best game and face the critical moments, which I am sure will come, with confidence. If we are mentally strong and we have the patience, I am sure we will have chances to reach our goal."
Nikola Vujcic - OlympiacosOlympiacos held on to beat a pesky Real Madrid 88-79 to open their best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series with a victory at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Tuesday. Former Euroleague MVP Theo Papaloukas tied a playoff record and set a career-high with 13 assists off the bench to spark the Reds, who blew a huge second period lead before fighting off Madrid for the win in the final quarter. Game 2 of the series is set for Thursday evening also in Piraeus before heading to Madrid next week. Nikola Vujcic dominated early for the Reds, who built a double-digit lead in the first period and increased it to 46-28 in the second. Tomas Van den Spiegel and Raul Lopez scored key baskets in a 0-13 Madrid run that brought the visitors within 46-41 at halftime. Felipe Reyes, Lopez and Louis Bullock stretched the run to 20 unanswered points over the two halves to take the lead in the third period. Madrid would lead by as many as 6, but the game remained close from that point until late in the third period. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos shined at both ends in the fourth quarter with excellent defense and a pair of clutch three-pointers in a 10-3 push that gave the Reds an 80-71 lead with less than three minutes to play and paved the way to the victory. Vujcic and Lynn Greer paced Olympiacos with 19 points apiece, while Papaloukas posted 13 points and 13 assists – equaling Elmer Bennett’s eight-year old playoff record for assists. Bullock scored 15 as he entered Euroleague Basketball’s career scoring top 10. Reyes added 14 points and 7 rebounds and Lopez scored 11 in defeat.

Raul Lopez - Real MadridOlympiacos started with an impressive 7-0 run thanks to points from Vujcic, Jannero Pargo and Josh Childress as Real Madrid failed to score on its four first possessions. Lopez and Bullock each nailed a three-pointer to help the guests regain their confidence at 7-6. Vujcic continued to rule in the paint connecting for 10 points of his own after five minutes of play to lead Olympiacos to a 13-8 edge. Yotam Halperin drove for an off-balance jumper, but soon Alex Mumbru ran the floor for an easy layup that made it 15-12. Halperin took over from Vujicic to chip in a triple and later on Childress copied him to increase the Reds’s lead to 21-14. Madrid was having trouble with the hosts’ plethora of offensive options. After feeding the ball inside in the beginning, Olympiacos started to punish the visitors from the perimeter. Lopez created room for a nice layup, but Vujcic proved his excellent shape once more by connecting from behind the arc to make it 24-16. The difference reached double digits for the first time when Giorgos Printezis dunked in traffic. Kennedy Winston scored on an offensive board, but Greer came in off the bench to hit a jumper for a 28-18 Olympiacos lead after one quarter.

Papaloukas opened fire with a three-pointer to make it 31-18. Bullock connected impressively, but Vujcic's class continued to prove unstoppable for the Madrid big men. When Papaloukas ran the fast break for a basket-plus-foul to make it 36-20, the home crowd got really excited and Madrid coach Joan Plaza had to call for a timeout. Van De Spiegel dunked after some nice Madrid ball movement, but Olympiacos kept adding to the margin as Papaloukas bagged another triple. Winston offered the play of the day with a monster slam in traffic plus free throw to cut it to 39-27 and most importantly offer Madrid a huge blast of confidence. The guests changed their defense to zone, but Lynn Greer countered with a triple for Olympiacos to make it 44-28. The biggest difference was recorded at 46-28 after free-throw points from Panagiotis Vasilopoulos. But then Real Madrid came back. The guests used a magnificent 13-point unanswered streak punctuated by baskets from Lopez and Van den Spiegel and a three-pointer from Axel Hervelle to cut it to 46-41. After 17 minutes of completely dictating the tempo, Olympiacos was forced to go to the lockers with a slight 46-41 edge as Real Madrid tightened its defense and created good opportunities on the offensive end for a great final three minutes in the second period.

Lynn Greer - OlympiacosMadrid returned from the halftime break in the fashion it finished the first. Reyes, Lopez and Bullock combined for another 0-9 run made the total streak 22 unanswered points between the two periods to move from 46-28 behind to 46-50 ahead. Olympiacos struggled to get on the board after suffering through a seven-minute scoring drought until Ioannis Bourousis nailed one from the charity stripe. Madrid was now in complete control as Bullock fired in another triple to make it 47-53. Papaloukas checked in as Olympiacos had obvious trouble to set up its offense. Childress and Greer increased the tempo and Georgios Printezis scored off an assist by Papaloukas to bring Olympiacos closer at 53-55. Bullock found an easy layup on the fast break, but Greer nailed a three-pointer and Childress connected from the baseline to tie the game at 58-58. Jeremiah Massey delivered, however Printezis buried a triple to take the lead back for Olympiacos, 61-60. Winston and Papaloukas exchanged baskets before Lopez saved the quarter's last word for a 63-64 Real edge.

Greer exploded for 5 straight points to make it 68-66 for Olympiacos. Bourousis dunked, but Pepe Santchez kept Madrid close at 70-68. Olympiacos head coach Panagiotis Giannakis was using Vasilopoulos to guard the guests' playmaker, either Lopez or Llull. Vasilopoulos beat the shot-clock buzzer for a big three-pointer to make it 73-68, but Hervelle stepped up to nail a triple for Madrid. Papaloukas dished to Vujcic for easy points. Bourousis blocked Hervelle and Vasilopoulos netted one more from downtown at the 24-buzzer for an 80-71 lead with less than three minutes to play. Reyes helped Madrid to cut it to 82-75 with 4 points of his own and Bullock penetrated to make it 82-77, one minute before the end. Vasilopoulos missed this time from the arc, but Printezis stole the ball and Olympiacos had now to protect a 5-point-margin with less than 40 seconds to the final. There was no time left for miracles for Real Madrid as Olympiacos grabbed a difficult win to open the best-of-five playoff series.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Stelios Kyriakoglou, Athens
Referees: VOJINOVIC, MILIJA (SRB), CEREBUCH, GUERRINO (ITA), JUNGEBRAND, CARL (FIN)
Attendance: 12000
By Quarter1234
Olympiacos28181725
Real Madrid18232315
End of Quarter1234
Olympiacos28466388
Real Madrid18416479
Head coach: GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS 29:14 13 3/5 2/3 1/1   2 2 13 2 1     3 3 26
6 CHILDRESS, JOSH 18:48 8 2/4 1/2 1/2   4 4 1 2 1       1 11
7 VUJCIC, NIKOLA 30:08 19 7/8 1/1 2/5 2 3 5 4   2     3 3 22
9 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 23:44 5 2/5 0/2 1/2 3 3 6 1 1 2     3 1 3
10 HALPERIN, YOTAM 14:20 5 1/1 1/1         2   1     1   5
11 GREER, LYNN 26:54 19 4/6 2/4 5/5       1   1     3 6 18
13 VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS 19:21 8   2/3 2/2 1 2 3       2   1 2 13
14 VOUGIOUKAS, IAN 3:28   0/1       1 1           1   -1
16 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 20:01 7 2/5 1/1     4 4 2 1 1     1   9
17 ERCEG, ZORAN 2:39 2 1/1   0/3                 1 2  
18 TEODOSIC, MILOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
24 PARGO, JANNERO 11:23 2 1/2 0/2         1   2     1 1 -2
Team                                
Totals 200:00 88 23/38 10/19 12/20 6 19 25 25 6 11 2 0 18 19 104
60.5% 52.6% 60%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 MIROTIC, NIKOLA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 SANCHEZ, PEPE 13:52 2 1/2     1   1 2 1       3 2 4
8 WINSTON, KENNEDY 17:10 9 3/4   3/3 1 1 2           3 2 9
9 REYES, FELIPE 22:05 14 5/8   4/5 2 5 7   1 4     3 3 14
12 VAN DEN SPIEGEL, TOMAS 17:55 9 3/5   3/4   2 2     1       3 10
15 MUMBRU, ALEX 21:31 4 2/2 0/2     1 1 1 2 3     2   1
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 25:51 9 0/3 2/4 3/4 1 8 9   1 3   1 2 2 9
21 MASSEY, JEREMIAH 14:09 6 2/4   2/2 3   3 1 1       1 2 10
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 27:23 15 3/5 3/5     2 2 1 2 1       4 19
23 LLULL, SERGIO 15:48   0/2 0/2   1 1 2 1 1 1   1 3   -5
24 LOPEZ, RAUL 24:05 11 4/7 1/2     2 2 1   1     2   7
33 TOMAS, MARKO 0:11                              
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 79 23/42 6/15 15/18 10 22 32 7 9 14 0 2 19 18 79
54.8% 40% 83.3%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"That was another excellent Euroleague game. We knew that we were facing a team ready to cause us trouble. We were a bit nervous, that explains why we missed so many free throws. But when Madrid made its comeback, we kept our nerve, showed patience and did not panic in order to sail to a very important win. We were working hard during the season in order to build a character as team. Not to lose concentration and stay calm. That delivered the win tonight."
PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"They played better than us. They have a strong team and they have some really big guys that caused trouble for us. There is a short time to make any surprises or changes [for Game 2]. We have to work harder on rebounding and try to deal with Olympiacos's pick-and-roll plays. But in general there is not much that we could alter in such a short period of time. Not only for Thursday's game, but also for the upcoming games of the Quarterfinal series."

Players

PAPALOUKAS, THEODOROS
Olympiacos
"The first game in a series is always very important. As such, this win is very essential for us. But, the next may prove even more important. I think that for most of the game we played very good basketball and did a great job, especially on the defensive end. But, we hurried up in order to secure the win and that cost us. Madrid came back huge and we got nervous. That means we still have work to do to become a team ready to qualify for the Final Four. Nevertheless, we showed character down the stretch and found solutions on the offensive end. You asked me about breaking my personal assist record; from 12 to 13. Yes, I will do it like Sergey Bubka; break it little-by-little..."
MASSEY, JEREMIAH
Real Madrid
"Olympiacos had a great start to the game, executing in excellent efficiency. That's the reason we were down by 17-18 points. But we managed to come back. They nailed some really tough shots though down the stretch and grabbed the win. It is difficult to handle Olympiacos at its home. We have to improve our concentration in order to improve our chances in the series."
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