May 21, 2013
Playoffs Game 3 - March 31, 2009 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - PALACIO VISTALEGRE
Real Madrid 71 - 63 Olympiacos
PLAYOFFS, GAME 3
GROUP Quarterfinal 1
GROUP Quarterfinal 2
GROUP Quarterfinal 3
GROUP Quarterfinal 4

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-2 Playoffs 2-0
5-1 Top 16 5-1
6-4 Regular Season 6-4
11-7 Overall 13-5

Referees

Crew Chief
LAMONICA, LUIGI, Italy
Referee
ZIEMBLICKI, GRZEGORZ, Poland
Umpire
JOVCIC, MILIVOJE, Serbia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
77.6 Points 82.1
32.5 Rebounds 33.8
11.8 O. Rebounds 9.1
20.7 D. Rebounds 24.7
12.8 Assists 16.7
7.8 Steals 8.2
1.5 Blocks 2.8
12.8 Turnovers 14.3
52.2 % 2PT 58.6 %
34.4 % 3PT 38.4 %
77.0 % FT 66.6 %
81.8 Index 94.0
Team Stats - Real Madrid
Team Stats - Olympiacos

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
13.2 / Reyes Points 11.7 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
6.2 / Reyes Rebounds 7.2 / Bourousis
2.1 / Reyes OR 2.3 / Bourousis
4.1 / Reyes DR 4.9 / Bourousis
2.8 / Lopez Assists 5.4 / Papaloukas
1.1 / Reyes Steals 1.3 / Papaloukas
0.5 / Hosley Blocks 1.0 / VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS
1.9 / Reyes Turnovers 2.4 / Papaloukas
63.6 % / V.d. Spiegel 2PT 78.0 % / Papaloukas
50.0 % / Reyes 3PT 51.3 % / HALPERIN, YOTAM
96.0 % / BULLOCK, LOUIS FT 100.0 % / Teodosic
15.5 / Reyes Index 15.0 / VUJCIC, NIKOLA
Team Roster - Real Madrid
Team Roster - Olympiacos

THE TAKE

Real Madrid will look to extend its Euroleague season for at least one more game when it hosts Olympiacos Piraeus for Game 3 of their best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs series on Tuesday at Palacio Vistalegre in the Spanish capital. The Reds boast a 2-0 lead in the series with a pair of hard-fought wins in Greece last week. One more win will send head coach Panagiotis Giannakis’s men to the Final Four for the first time in decade. Although the club has not been to a Final Four, Giannakis can count on three former Euroleague champs – Theo Papaloukas, Nikola Vujcic and Yotam Halperin, all of whom played in last season’s title game – to provide the leadership needed to help his team win such a crucial game on the road. Madrid, meanwhile, has won six straight games on its home floor and will give everything to win twice and send the series back to Greece for a Game 5. Head coach Joan Plaza’s men are confident they can win after blowing fourth-quarter leads in the two games so far. Veterans Louis Bullock and Felipe Reyes have provided a solid scoring punch for the Whites, but Madrid has lacked consistent scoring from the bench. So far Olympiacos’s bench has outscored Madrid’s 94-44 this series. The Reds have also enjoyed a hotter hand, combining to make 17 threes at 48.6%, while Madrid has 10 at 28.6%. Part of the problem for the home team has been at point guard, where Plaza will need to see Raul Lopez, Pepe Sanchez or Sergio Llull grab the reins and lead the team offensively and defensively. The Madrid backcourt, which also included Bullock and Marko Tomas, matches up with the Reds’ deep rotation featuring Papaloukas, Halperin, Jannero Pargo and the red-hot Lynn Greer, who has averaged 20 points in the first two games. Nikola Vujcic has anchored the Olympiacos frontline along with Ioannis Bourousis and forwards Georgios Printezis, Josh Childress and Panagiotis Vasilopoulos. Madrid counters with Tomas Van den Spiegel and Reyes at the pivot and Jeremiah Massey, Axel Hervelle, Kennedy Winston and Alex Mumbru at the forward spots. The home crowd should give Madrid some extra confidence, which could prove to be the difference down the stretch after two close games so far. However it is worth noting that while Olympiacos had the weekend to prepare and rest without any Greek League contests, Madrid faced a trip to the Canary Islands where it lost to Kalise Gran Canaria in the Spanish League.

GAME NOTES

Real Madrid
  • Forward Felipe Reyes matched his Euroleague career high with 23 points in Game 2 against Olympiacos on Thursday. He first scored 23 in a February 2006 loss at Montepaschi Siena.
  • Guard Louis Bullock has made at least 1 three-pointer in 11 straight Euroleague games. He is shooting 42.2% from downtown over that span. (27 for 64)
  • Bullock is 3 assists away from tying former Milano and Benetton star Riccardo Pittis for 20th place on the Euroleague Basketball career assists charts. Bullock enters Tuesday’s game with 268 career assists.
  • Bullock is the league’s leading free throw shooter among qualified players with 48 makes in 50 attempts for a 96% success rate.
  • Center Tomas Van den Spiegel sits at 13th place on the Euroleague Basketball career shots blocked list with 75. He is 4 away from reaching Tau Ceramica’s Tiago Splitter 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.
Olympiacos
  • Point guard Theo Papaloukas set a career-high and tied an eight-year old Euroleague Basketball playoffs record with 13 assists in Game 1 of the Quarterfinal Playoffs. He now shares the record with Elmer Bennett, who dished 13 for Tau Ceramica against AEK Athens in 2001.
  • Papaloukas leads the full-season charts for assists with 5.4 per game. He has dished a minimum of 4 assists in every game this season.
  • Center Nikola Vujcic has scored in double figures in six consecutive games.
  • Swingman Michalis 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.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"In Athens, we showed that we can compete against a roster as strong as that of Olympiacos, which means we can be confident in ourselves. I think we deserve to win this third game, but to do so it's very important that we don't think of the fourth or fifth one. We have to go step by step, although as I said, I believe it would be fair that we, due to the effort we made in the two previous games, win this one on Tuesday. The atmosphere in the stands will also be important, that are fans are together as one, cheering the team so it gets its first win in the series."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"We travel to Spain thinking that the series starts from the beginning, which means 0-0. We know that Real Madrid will put much pressure on us from the very first second. They are a big club that knows how to play important games and how to prepare themselves after big wins or losses. We expect even more pressure from their fans, since we will compete in their home court, so we will need the highest level of concentration during the whole game. Controlling the tempo, rebounding and turnovers will decide again the winner of the third battle."

Players

VAN DEN SPIEGEL, TOMAS
Real Madrid
"Winning is the only thing that counts and what's most important for us is believing we can do it. I believe we have reason to believe, considering that in the other two games we played in Greece, we had chances until the end. But now, added to our competitive capacity, will be the boost that the fans at Palacio Vistalegre give us. We're hoping for a full house of Madrid fans ready to support the team as in all major occasions like this. Their help is key for us to continue in this competition. Everything is possible, and inside the team, we are only thinking about tomorrow's game and how to win it so that we play again on Thursday."
PARGO, JANNERO
Olympiacos
"The coach keeps telling us that the series against Real Madrid is starting now and I believe we realize it. Everybody is satisfied by the 2-0 lead, but none of us celebrated, as we know that we need another win to fulfill our goal. We are going to Spain knowing what to expect and also that Real will play with their backs to the wall. We respect them even more now after our first two battles, but we want to finish the series in Madrid and I believe we can do it. Even if don’t accomplish our goal, we will still control our destiny, since the fifth game will be on our home court."
Felipe Reyes - Real MadridReal Madrid is alive and kicking in the fight to make the 2009 Final Four after beating Olympiacos 71-63 in front of 11,500 fans in Game 3 of the Quarterfinal Playoffs in the Spanish capital on Tuesday. Madrid registered its first win in the best-of-five playoff series and hosts Game 4 on Thursday. Olympiacos needs one more win to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1999. Louis Bullock led the winners with 22 points and Felipe Reyes added 21 and 9 rebounds for Madrid. Ioannis Bourousis led Olympiacos with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but nobody else registered double digits for the Reds, whose star center Nikola Vujcic left the game with an injury late in the first quarter. Alex Mumbru and Bullock combined for all the points in an 11-0 opening run. A three-point play by Reyes soon made it an 18-point game, 22-4. A fast break dunk by Sergio Llull gave Madrid its biggest lead, 33-12. Zoran Erceg and Bourousis brought Olympiacos back to life while consecutive three-pointers by Panos Vasilopoulos and Theo Papaloukas got the Reds within 65-60 with a minute to go, however Jeremiah Massey and Raul Lopez allowed Madrid to seal a well-deserved win.

Josh Childress - OlympiacosMumbru got Madrid going with free throws, as Olympiacos opted for a small starting lineup with Giorgos Printezis at power forward. Bullock took over with consecutive three-pointers for a 8-0 Madrid lead. The Reds went scoreless for more than two minutes while an acrobatic three-point play by Mumbru made Olympiacos coach Panagiotis Giannakis call timeout at 11-0. Josh Childress tried to change things with a put-back dunk that Reyes matched with a five-meter jumper. Vujcic scored around the basket, but Olympiacos could not adjust its man-to-man defense. Reyes stepped up with free throws and added a driving layup to make it 17-4. Madrid excelled in defense while a big basket by Massey and a three-point play by an unstoppable Reyes boosted the hosts' lead to 22-4, after a 9-0 run. Childress took over with a layup-plus-foul and Lynn Greer struck from downtown to bring Olympiacos back to life, 22-10. A free throw by Kennedy Winston and a left-handed driving layup by Childress fixed the score at 23-12 after 10 minutes.

Olympiacos opened the second quarter with a 24-second violation that allowed Tomas Van den Spiegel to give Madrid a 25-12 margin. Van den Spiegel soon added a layup in transition and Marko Tomas led the hosts' defense by stopping Papaloukas. Olympiacos lacked ball circulation and was held scoreless for more than five minutes. Meanwhile, a power layup by Mumbru broke the game open, 29-12. Hervelle nailed a floating jumper, as the Reds even missed free throws now. Llull sent the crowd to its feet with a fast break dunk that capped a 10-0 Madrid run. Erceg scored in transition - Olympiacos's first points in this quarter - while Bourousis added a layup for a 33-16 deficit. Bullock stepped up with a big basket that Greer erased in the other end. The Reds switched back to man-to-man defense off a timeout but kept struggling to score despite slowing down the game tempo. Bourousis made free throws but Reyes beat the buzzer with a tip-in for a 37-20 Madrid lead at halftime.

Louis Bullock - Real MadridMadrid tried to use longer possessions after the break, trying to look for open shots. Bourousis shined with a coast-to-coast layup, but free throws by Bullock restored a 17-point Madrid lead. Milos Teodosic took over with a floating layup as the Reds slowly improved their defense. Madrid could not find the way to the basket while trying to run the game clock down, while free throws by Bourousis brought Olympiacos closer, 39-26. Reyes hit foul shots, but Printezis answered from downtown to get Olympiacos within 12. Madrid called timeout after which Massey and Bourousis traded layups. Reyes shined with a jump hook and Bullock added an electric driving layup to give Madrid a 47-33 margin. Erceg silenced the crowd with a triple, but free throws by Bullock gave Madrid some fresh air. Erceg helped Olympiacos with a second-chance layup that Bullock bettered with a layup-plus-foul. Bourousis scored down low for a 52-41 Olympiacos deficit after three quarters.

Papaloukas fed Bourousis for an alleyoop layup that brought the Reds within single digits, 52-43. Papaloukas soon added a driving layup, but free throws by Reyes kept Madrid way ahead, 54-45. Panos Vasilopoulos beat the shot clock with a step-back triple that Bullock matched with foul shots. Greer insisted from downtown to make it 57-51 with seven minutes to go. Both teams went scoreless for more than two minutes until Reyes fed Bullock for a backdoor layup, good for a 59-51 Madrid edge. Olympiacos needed a quick comeback to keep its options alive in the final four minutes and Childress tried to ignite it with free throws. Reyes copied him at the other end while Massey shined with a power layup, good for a 63-53 Madrid lead. Reyes collected a steal and fed Mumbru for a fast break layup, but Vasilopoulos answered from downtown for a 65-57 Olympiacos deficit. Papaloukas joined the three-point shootout to get the Reds event closer, 65-60, with a minute remaining. Massey scored in penetration but Greer got Olympiacos within 67-61 with 45.5 seconds to go. Free throws by Lopez sealed the outcome, as the Madrid fans saw that their team would keep fighting for Euroleague glory!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: LAMONICA, LUIGI (ITA), ZIEMBLICKI, GRZEGORZ (POL), JOVCIC, MILIVOJE (SRB)
Attendance: 11500
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid23141519
Olympiacos1282122
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid23375271
Olympiacos12204163
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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 BOGDANOVIC, BOJAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 WINSTON, KENNEDY 11:21 1     1/2   1 1           1 2 2
9 REYES, FELIPE 31:15 19 5/16   9/11 5 4 9 4 5 2     1 8 29
12 VAN DEN SPIEGEL, TOMAS 8:45 4 2/2     2   2     2     4    
15 MUMBRU, ALEX 25:11 9 3/5 0/2 3/3 1 1 2 3 5 3   1 2 3 12
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 24:28 4 2/4 0/3   2 5 7 1   4 1   3 1 2
21 MASSEY, JEREMIAH 15:14 8 4/5 0/1   2 2 4           5 1 6
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 33:40 22 4/7 2/9 8/9   1 1 3   1     2 5 17
23 LLULL, SERGIO 13:40 2 1/1 0/1   1   1           1 1 2
24 LOPEZ, RAUL 28:26 2 0/2 0/3 2/2   2 2 3 1         3 6
33 TOMAS, MARKO 8:00   0/1     1 1 2     1   1 1   -2
Team           1 2 3   2           5
Totals 200:00 71 21/43 2/19 23/27 15 19 34 14 13 13 1 2 20 24 79
48.8% 10.5% 85.2%
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 25:52 5 1/1 1/1     3 3 6   6       2 10
6 CHILDRESS, JOSH 24:19 9 3/3 0/2 3/3 2 4 6     1     1 3 14
7 VUJCIC, NIKOLA 7:56 2 1/2       1 1     1     1    
9 BOUROUSIS, IOANNIS 27:01 17 6/9 0/2 5/9 4 6 10 1 1 3     4 6 19
10 HALPERIN, YOTAM 14:03     0/2     1 1 1   1     2   -3
11 GREER, LYNN 30:28 9 1/5 2/6 1/2 1 1 2 2         3 3 4
13 VASILOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS 26:47 6   2/4 0/2   1 1     2 2   2 2 3
14 VOUGIOUKAS, IAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 PRINTEZIS, GEORGIOS 17:26 6 1/2 1/1 1/2 1 3 4   1 1     5 3 6
17 ERCEG, ZORAN 8:48 7 2/3 1/1   1   1 1   1   1 3   3
18 TEODOSIC, MILOS 11:36 2 1/2 0/1   1   1 2 1       3 1 2
24 PARGO, JANNERO 5:44   0/1 0/2         1 1 1         -2
Team             1 1     2         -1
Totals 200:00 63 16/28 7/22 10/18 10 21 31 14 4 19 2 1 24 20 55
57.1% 31.8% 55.6%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"We were able to win this game under difficult conditions, with three games in a short period of time. We managed to play tough in the second half and played defense close to perfection. My team was very ambitious and willing tonight, and that was a main key to this win. That is why we deserve to tie the series. Our defensive level was great but our three-point precentage was bad. That kind of thing must be improved in the upcoming Game 4."
GIANNAKIS, PANAGIOTIS
Olympiacos
"First of all, I have to say I am sorry for the first half my team had tonight. That let Madrid get a big lead. Luckily, everything changed in the second half. We played much better, but the keys were the easy points we allowed in this game. I knew it was going to be a long series, but I hope my team improves in Game 4. All I have left to say is to congratulate Madrid for this win."

Players

LOPEZ, RAUL
Real Madrid
"We played an all-around game tonight. It was obvious that we feel very comfortable at home. We have to be focused now. We are not thinking about Game 5, but only to get ready and focus in Game 4. I really liked our defense in the first half. On the other hand, we have to improve what we did in the second half."
REYES, FELIPE
Real Madrid
"It was a tough game for us. We have one more battle to fight, but with our fans it is very easy to play a do-or-die, make-or-break game. Each game has the same intensity, but like I said, having fans like these makes things much easier. Their posters before the game made us get right on track. They supported us all 40 minutes long. Our defense was incredible in the first half. We were able to work hard in the second half when they tried to come back and that allowed us to win the game."
CHILDRESS, JOSH
Olympiacos
"It is obvious that we have to change some of the things we did tonight, especially on defense. We need to be way more aggressive and avoid playing worse, even though we are playing on the road. This has been an audience different from everything I have seen before, but it was fun to play in this nice atmosphere. We must work hard, improve our game and try to win Game 4."
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