May 19, 2013
Top 16 Game 1 - January 29, 2009 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - MEDIOLANUM FORUM
AJ Milano 76 - 74 Olympiacos

Records

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

Referees

Crew Chief
ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS, Spain
Referee
DOZAI, SRDAN, Croatia
Umpire
VOJINOVIC, MILIJA, Serbia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
73.4 Points 81.5
27.4 Rebounds 33.9
9.0 O. Rebounds 8.8
18.4 D. Rebounds 25.1
10.6 Assists 15.8
8.5 Steals 8.5
0.8 Blocks 2.9
14.0 Turnovers 15.4
50.5 % 2PT 57.8 %
38.5 % 3PT 38.3 %
81.7 % FT 67.8 %
67.2 Index 90.9
Team Stats - AJ Milano
Team Stats - Olympiacos

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
14.1 / Hawkins Points 12.4 / Greer
5.2 / ROCCA, MASON Rebounds 7.8 / Bourousis
2.2 / ROCCA, MASON OR 2.2 / Bourousis
2.7 / Katelynas DR 5.6 / Bourousis
2.6 / Hawkins Assists 5.0 / Papaloukas
1.6 / Hawkins Steals 1.4 / HALPERIN, YOTAM
0.3 / Katelynas Blocks 0.7 / CHILDRESS, JOSH
3.3 / VITALI, LUCA Turnovers 2.6 / Papaloukas
62.5 % / VITALI, LUCA 2PT 81.8 % / Papaloukas
59.4 % / MORDENTE, MARCO 3PT 60.0 % / Printezis
100.0 % / HALL, MICHAEL FT 100.0 % / Teodosic
15.5 / Hawkins Index 16.1 / Bourousis
Team Roster - AJ Milano
Team Roster - Olympiacos

THE TAKE

Two teams highly motivated to make some noise in the Top 16 tip off on Thursday when Armani Jeans Milano hosts Olympiacos. Both teams made last minute additions to their squads this week to prepare for the Top 16. The hosts added playmaker Hollis Price and power forward Maurice Taylor, while the Reds inked combo guard Jannero Pargo. The moves help offset the teams’ respective injuries. Sniper Marco Moredente is out with a broken hand for Milano and Olympiacos misses Josh Childress, who needed a hernia operation. Armani Jeans was already riding high after winning five of its last six games in the regular season to cruise into the Top 16. The team has done so by playing hard and playing as a team. Price has not had much time to adjust to his new teammates, but he brings scoring, ball-handling, passing and leadership to the backcourt, where he will team with the likes of David Hawkins, Jobey Thomas, Luca Vitali and veteran Massimo Bulleri. However Olympiacos is just as deep with Lynn Greer, Theo Papaloukas, Yotam Halperin, Milos Teodosic and Pargo. Taylor joins Pape Sow, Mason Rocca and Mindaugas Katelynas on the Milano frontline, creating an opportunity for Mike Hall to play more at small forward. Still the hosts must buckle down to handle Nikola Vujcic, Ioannis Bourousis, Zoran Erceg and Sofoklis Schortsanitis inside. Georgios Printezis, Panos Vasilopoulos and even Michalis Pelekanos could see a bump in their minutes with Childress out. While Olympiacos enjoys greater depth, Milano’s new members strengthen the team in that category and head coach Piero Bucchi’s men have already shown that they can handle deeper squads with regular season wins over Real Madrid and CSKA. Milano will aim to get help from the crowd, which has helped it win four straight at home, and keep the game close until the closing minutes, where its players have shown the makeup to rise to the occasion. However Olympiacos will be no pushover, looking to use its speed and strength to wear down the home team. The result in the game will set the tone for these two teams in Group E and both teams will be giving 100% to make sure they start on the right foot.

GAME NOTES

Armani Jeans Milano
  • Guard Luca Vitali erupted for 7 three-pointers and 32 points – both career highs – in his last visit to Greece, against Panionios On Telecoms in the regular season finale.
  • Guard David Hawkins was a college teammate of Olympiacos’s Lynn Greer at Temple University. They played together for two seasons from 2000 to 2002. Greer and Hawkins were first and second, respectively, in scoring and assists in for the Owls in that second season.
  • Armani Jeans’s two newest signings, point guard Hollis Price and power forward Maurice Taylor, are expected to make their debuts with the team on Thursday.
Olympiacos
  • Guard Theo Papaloukas led the Euroleague in the regular season with 5 assists per game. He has recorded at least 4 assists in 11 consecutive Euroleague games dating back to last season’s Euroleague championship game.
  • Papaloukas needs 5 more steals to become the first player in Euroleague Basketball history to amass 250 career steals.
  • Guard Lynn Greer played under current Armani Jeans Milano head coach Piero Bucchi at Eldo Napoli in the 2005-06 season. Greer led the Italian League in scoring with 23.5 points per game that season. Milano center Mason Rocca was also a teammate of Greer’s at Milano.
  • The longest game of center Nikola Vujcic’s lengthy career came against Armani Jeans Milano. Vujcic, then with Maccabi Tel Aviv, played just over 48 minutes in Maccabi’s 96-95 double overtime win over Milano in December 2005. He finished that game with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
  • Newly signed guard Jannero Pargo is expected to make his debut with Olympiacos against his former teammate in Dynamo Moscow, Hollis Price, who joined Armani Jeans this week.
  • The Reds faced Milano for the first time in the Champions Cup in 1996-97, in two thrilling games. They lost on the road 71-73 and won at home, 84-75, on the way to winning the trophy at the Final Four in Rome.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

BUCCHI, PIERO
AJ Milano
"We start the Top 16 with a very difficult game against a strong and deep team in Olympiacos, a team that was built to win this competition. We know this, but we are very confident in our skills. We remember all the good things we did in the regular season. It will be a difficult game and we have to start it well, playing aggressive and focused for all 40 minutes."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"During the regular season, Armani Jeans Milano showed that they have a very good team and whoever didn't respect them, paid for it badly. Olympiacos respects all its opponents and the same goes with Milano. This team has two new faces in the roster and right now we can't say with certainty how much they will affect their game. We care now about our team and they care for their own. Definitely, we want to start the Top 16 with a road win, since the results in this phase are much more important. At the same time, we would like to combine a win with a performance that would meet our expectations."

Players

ROCCA, MASON
AJ Milano
"Olympiacos is a very strong team with a deep roster. They have dangerous perimeter guys like Lynn Greer and Theodoros Papaloukas, for example, who can break the game at any moment. And they have players like Vujcic, Bourousis and Schortsanitis inside, who are also dangerous and very strong physically. Again, I think they are a pretty good team. We'll have to play with the right intensity and concentration till the last second of the game, because if you allow them to control the tempo, they can destroy you. In the regular season, we won some games against teams like CSKA or Real, which are stronger than us on the paper, by playing as a team and we want to repeat that in the Top 16. Those games gave us the confidence to play and beat everybody: We are ready to play this game, and we know that will be a battle."
GREER, LYNN
Olympiacos
"From the beginning of the season, we knew that everything depends on how we play our game, despite which teams we face. That philosophy won't change now that we are facing Armani Jeans Milano. We are going to play against a team that has two advantages. They compete at home and they don't have too much pressure if they lose. In comparison to the first phase, there are a few things that have changed for both teams and definitely the situation is much different than last September, when we faced Milano in a preseason game in Bologna. We lost that one, but now we don't want to repeat it. We want to start the Top 16 with a road win."
David Hawkins - AJ MilanoArmani Jeans Milano held on for a thrilling 76-74 win over Olympiacos to start the Top 16 on the right foot. The hosts led from start to finish and the gap increased to as much as 15 in the third period before the Reds mounted a fourth-quarter comeback. However Mike Hall scored 8 of Milano’s last 11 points and grabbed 2 clutch rebounds to keep the hosts on top. And a little luck didn’t hurt either as Lynn Greer stumbled after making contact with Hollis Price in the closing seconds and Olympiacos never got off a final shot to tie – or win – the game. David Hawkins and Luca Vitali paced Milano with 15 points apiece. Jobey Thomas added 14 and Hall finished with 13. Georgios Printezis paced Olympiacos with a career-high 22 points and Nikola Vujcic added 10 points and 5 assists. The Olympiacos defense is what kept it in the game, forcing 20 Milano turnovers, but poor shooting – 2 for 16 from downtown (12.5%) and 14 for 22 from the line (63.6%) ultimately doomed the visitors.

Pape Sow started the game well for the hosts with a power move for a three-point play and then a second basket in the paint before Vujcic corrected his own miss for the Reds’ first score. Vitali buried a three-pointer to continue the hosts’ strong start, but Michalis Pelekanos – starting in place of the injured Josh Childress – made his presence felt with his first three of the season. And Greer drove for a basket that closed the gap to 1. Vitali remained hot with a pair of jumper that kept Milano on top despite baskets at the other end by Panos Vasilopoulos and Printezis for Olympiacos. Printezis corrected his own miss to further narrow the gap and Theo Papaloukas’s steal led to a free throw that tied the game at 18-18. Yohann Sangare handed off to Mason Rocca for a basket in the paint, but the hosts had no answer for Sofoklis Schortsanitis at the other end. Hawkins buried a three that gave the hosts a 23-20 lead after 10 minutes.

Yotam Halperin - OlympiacosArmani Jeans thrilled the crowd with a sequence that started with a Rocca block and ended with a Thomas triple. Schortsanitis was called for an offensive foul as he overpowered Rocca en route to a slam and Papaloukas, who made his displeasure with the call known to the referees, earned a technical foul. Thomas sank the resulting free throws and then Price pulled up for a three – his first points for his new club – to cap an 11-0 charge that gave the hosts their first double-digit lead and caused Olympiacos head coach Panagiotis Giannakis to take a timeout. Newcomer Jannero Pargo ended the Olympiacos drought inside, but the visitors still hadn’t found a way to slow down the Armani Jeans attack. Hall electrified the crowd with an offensive rebound and slam only to see Ioannis Bourousis dunk at the other end. The teams continued to trade baskets as Milano kept a comfortable lead. Vitali spotted Hawkins for an open three that gave Milano its biggest lead yet, 12. Papaloukas found Vujcic for a layup that made it 42-32 at halftime.

Hall’s triple early in the second half gave Milano a 13-point lead and after Printezis scored inside, Vitali struck from downtown to make it 48-34. Yotam Halperin stormed the paint for a layup-plus-foul, but he missed the resulting free throws – the Reds’ third miss from the line in two minutes. Printezis’s steal and slam cut the Olympiacos deficit to 10, but on the ensuing play, Greer pushed Vitali and was called for an unsportsmanlike foul. Vitali sank 2 free throws and soon buried a three to push the lead up to 15. Even after Printezis threw down a monster jam on the break, Thomas buried another AJ three. And he quickly followed that one with another to make it 61-45. Printezis’s hustle kept the visitors from falling too far behind and a Papaloukas layup ended the period at 62-53, leaving the visitors hope for a fourth quarter comeback.

Luca Vitali - AJ MilanoPargo assisted to Printezis as the Reds clawed their way closer and an offensive foul on Price allowed Olympiacos to get to 5 on a Vujcic basket. Hawkins rose to the occasion with a three, but Printezis came through again for Giannakis. Bourousis narrowed the gap to 4, resulting in a Milano timeout. Olympiacos tightened its defense and a Pargo triple made it 65-64 midway through the fourth quarter. Hall kept the hosts ahead with a three-pointer, however the Reds answered with Vujcic’s low-post basket. Hall hit from downtown again, but this time Zoran Erceg responded with a jumper. Vujcic made it 71-70 from the line with a pair of free throws with 1:45 to play. Hall grabbed an athletic offensive rebound and laid it in and then grabbed a big defensive rebound at the other end. However a turnover led to a Papaloukas basket in transition that kept it a 1-point game with 45 seconds to play. The Reds sent Sow to the line with 21 second remaining hoping for some bricks, but he didn’t oblige and sank both. Greer drove and was fouled with 13 seconds left. He made both and after a timeout, Milano took almost seven second off the clock before Olympiacos sent Thomas to the line. He made only 1, but Greer slipped on his way down the floor and Olympiacos didn’t get the chance for a last shot as Milano celebrated the victory.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS (ESP), DOZAI, SRDAN (CRO), VOJINOVIC, MILIJA (SRB)
Attendance: 4187
By Quarter1234
AJ Milano23192014
Olympiacos20122121
End of Quarter1234
AJ Milano23426276
Olympiacos20325374
Head coach: BUCCHI, PIERO
AJ Milano
# 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
5 BULLERI, MASSIMO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 HALL, MIKE 29:08 13 2/2 3/8   3 3 6     2     4 2 10
8 SOW, PAPE 20:08 9 2/3   5/5   7 7   1 3 1   3 3 14
10 VITALI, LUCA 26:10 15 2/3 3/7 2/2 1 1 2 1   3     4 3 9
11 THOMAS, JOBEY 25:42 14   3/5 5/6 1 1 2     4     3 2 8
12 ROCCA, MASON 19:39 5 2/5   1/4 5 4 9     1     1 5 11
13 PRICE, HOLLIS 23:05 5 0/1 1/5 2/2   2 2 1   3     3 1 -2
15 KATELYNAS, MINDAUGAS 10:52     0/1 0/2   2 2 1   1     2 3  
16 MICEVIC, MARKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 SANGARE, YOHANN 14:08   0/1 0/1   1 2 3 1   3 1   2   -2
34 HAWKINS, DAVID 31:08 15 2/5 3/8 2/2   2 2 4 1   1   2 4 17
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 76 10/20 13/35 17/23 11 25 36 8 2 20 3 0 24 23 66
50% 37.1% 73.9%
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: 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 26:08 7 2/2 0/3 3/4   7 7 5 3 1     4 2 15
5 PELEKANOS, MICHALIS 4:20 5 1/1 1/1     2 2           1   6
7 VUJCIC, NIKOLA 24:15 10 4/9   2/2 1 1 2 5 2 2 1 1 1 1 12
9 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 7:23 4 2/3     1   1   1 1     1 1 4
10 HALPERIN, YOTAM 25:04 7 2/3 0/1 3/5   1 1 2 1         5 12
11 GREER, LYNN 20:46 6 1/3 0/2 4/4   1 1 1   1   1 3 3 2
13 VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS 14:02 2 1/7     2 1 3 1   1   1 3   -5
16 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 25:49 22 11/13 0/1 0/3 2 1 3   1 2     4 6 20
17 ERCEG, ZORAN 10:33 2 1/1 0/1           1       3 1  
18 TEODOSIC, MILOS 13:48   0/1 0/3     2 2 1 1       1 1  
21 SCHORTSANITIS, SOFOKLIS 7:56 4 1/2   2/2 1   1     1     3 1 1
24 PARGO, JANNERO 19:56 5 1/2 1/4 0/2 1 1 2 2 2 2       3 6
Team           2 5 7               7
Totals 200:00 74 27/47 2/16 14/22 10 22 32 17 12 11 1 3 24 24 80
57.4% 12.5% 63.6%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BUCCHI, PIERO
AJ Milano
"We played a very good first half, when we put the ball where we wanted and played quality basketball. In the second half, they played a great defense and did not allow us to get to the paint, but we won with heart. Taylor has to work on his conditioning. I don't think he will play next week."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"We played a very bad first half, but we did a better job in the last two quarters, especially on defense. We won all the statistics and we lost by 2 at the end. That’s basketball, but I'm looking forward to the next game to recover after this defeat."

Players

VITALI, LUCA
AJ Milano
"It was a difficult game. We are obviously happy for the victory, but we can't allow to the other teams to get back in the game when we have big leads like we had tonight. We can't stop playing defense if we struggle on offense. I was very aggressive at the start of the game, but I always try to do what the team needs."
SOW, PAPE
AJ Milano
"If we play aggressive, we can beat everybody. Tonight I think we made a great effort as a team, played with great concentration and with great effort on defense. I don't feel any pressure because of the new addictions to the team (Hollis Price and Maurice Taylor), I just think about playing my game and doing my best."
HALPERIN, YOTAM
Olympiacos
"The guys from Milano deserved the win. They were aggressive and they had the lead all game. They built a gap, we came back later in the game, but it wasn't enough. I don't want to talk about any fouls on Lynn Greer in the last possession. We had the last chance to tie or win the game and we made a mistake."
No pictures yet
There is no video yet
Italy: SKY SPORT 3
Denmark: VIASAT SPORTS
Greece: SKAI TV
Latvia: VIASAT SPORTS
Iberoamerica: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)
Estonia: VIASAT SPORTS
Pacific: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)
Finland: VIASAT SPORTS
Africa: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)
Turkey: DIGITURK
Israel: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)
USA: ESPN 360º
Brazil: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)
Canada: ESPN 360º
Caribbean: ESPN, Friday (Delayed)
Internet: EUROLEAGUE.TV
Poland: CANAL+ SPORT HD