May 21, 2013
Regular Season Game 7 - December 09, 2009 CET: 19:45 Local time: 20:45 - O.A.K.A.
Maroussi BC 74 - 62 Union Olimpija

Records

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

Referees

Crew Chief
FACCHINI, FABIO, Italy
Referee
VOJINOVIC, MILIJA, Serbia
Umpire
RUTESIC, ZDRAVKO, Montenegro

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
72.5 Points 72.8
29.2 Rebounds 29.7
10.2 O. Rebounds 9.3
19.0 D. Rebounds 20.3
12.8 Assists 12.2
7.3 Steals 5.7
2.3 Blocks 1.0
14.7 Turnovers 14.8
52.5 % 2PT 52.1 %
37.2 % 3PT 32.9 %
64.1 % FT 67.9 %
69.3 Index 61.8
Team Stats - Maroussi BC
Team Stats - Union Olimpija

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
12.2 / Lucas Points 22.0 / Walsh
5.5 / Mavroeidis Rebounds 4.7 / GOLUBOVIC, VLADIMIR
2.7 / Mavroeidis OR 2.3 / GOLUBOVIC, VLADIMIR
2.8 / Mavroeidis DR 4.0 / Walsh
2.8 / Lucas Assists 3.5 / BECIROVIC, SANI
2.2 / Lucas Steals 1.4 / Walsh
0.8 / Mavroeidis Blocks 0.5 / GOLUBOVIC, VLADIMIR
3.5 / KEYS, WILLIAM AMAR Turnovers 3.3 / BECIROVIC, SANI
100.0 % / Batis 2PT 68.4 % / SLOKAR, UROS
50.0 % / Batis 3PT 45.9 % / Walsh
80.0 % / Batis FT 100.0 % / Djordjevic
16.2 / Mavroeidis Index 23.4 / Walsh
Team Roster - Maroussi BC
Team Roster - Union Olimpija

THE TAKE

A make-or-break fight to rejoin the Top 16 race in Group C is set to take place in Athens, Greece, where Maroussi BC hosts Union Olimpija on Wednesday. These teams are tied for fifth place in the group at 1-5, two wins behind fourth-placed Lottomatica Roma. Maroussi already downed Olimpija 75-81 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in Week 2, so the guests would be all but mathematically out of the Top 16 race if they lose in Athens. There is some good news for Maroussi, as center Stephen Arigbabu is ready to make his Euroleague debut in this 2009-10 season. With Levon Kendall sidelined, Arigbabu is set to balance his team's defense, sharing minutes with blue-collar big man Jared Homan and power forwards Pat Calathes and Dimitris Mavroeidis around the baskets. Mavroeidis has been unstoppable so far, posting outstanding numbers (11.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg.) off the bench. His post skills and determination will be a big factor in this game. Uros Slokar seems to be the right man to stop him, while Gasper Vidmar and Vladimir Golubovic are ready for a big fight in the paint against Homan and Arigbabu. Edin Bavcic can make the difference for Olimpija due to his toughness and shooting range, but Maroussi counts on Stevan Nadjfeji to open the court when needed. With Arigbabu back in the team, Maroussi superstar Kostas Kaimakoglou will see more minutes at small forward, with Jamon Lucas and Michalis Pelekanos sharing playing time at the wings. Pelekanos, a top defensive player, has the tough mission to stop Sani Becirovic, Olimpija's heart and soul right now due to his experience, leadership and talent. Kaimakoglou hopes to use his physical game and determination against Matt Walsh, the Euroleague's top scorer this season. Walsh is able to create is own shot and is simply unstoppable when he is on fire, but Kaimakoglou seems the right man to guard him due to his size and experience. Saso Ozbolt is ready for a big shootout against Lucas. Vlado Ilievski missed the game against Maccabi Electra and is doubtful against Maroussi. As such, Dusan Djordjevic and Jaka Klobucar will share the point guard duties - but Becirovic is set to see minutes at playmaker in crunch time. Klobucar is ready to use his quickness and defensive skills against Billy Keys in a key matchup in this game. Maroussi is very deep at point guard, as Igor Milosevic offers court sense and quickness off the bench. Meanwhile, combo guard Marios Batis thrives in crunch time, being a deadly shooter that wants the ball in any tough situation. Maroussi must be aggressive and stop Becirovic and Walsh to win a decisive game. Meanwhile, Olimpija must rely on Golubovic and Slokar to stop Mavroeidis and try to run the break whenever possible. Expect intensity, drama and passion, as one of these two teams may say goodbye to its Top 16 dreams as soon as on Wednesday.

REFEREES: Fabio Facchini, Milija Vojinovic, Zdravko Rutesic


GAME NOTES

Maroussi BC

Head coach Giorgos Bartzokas coached Olimpija player Matt Walsh in Greece at Olympia Larissa during the 2006-07 season.

Michalis Pelekanos matched a career high with 5 assists against Union Olimpija during a January 2006 game for AEK Athens. Pelekanos also posted 9 points and 4 steals in a 68-77 loss.

Pelekanos, who enters this game shooting 5 for 10 from downtown, has not made a two-pointer yet in 7 attempts.

Dimitrios Mavroeidis scored a season-high 18 points in a Week 2 win over Union Olimpija.

Pat Calathes scored a season-high 13 points in a Week 2 win over Union Olimpija. He has totaled 9 points in five other appearances this season.

Igkor Milosevits has yet to make a three-pointer in his Euroleague career. Entering his 11th game, Milosevits is 0 for 9 from downtown.

Union Olimpija

Matt Walsh was a teammate of Maroussi big man Stephan Arigbabu at Olympia Larissa during the 2006-07 season.

Olimpija head coach Jure Zdovc played for and coached Greek clubs during his career. He played for Iraklis and Panionios with great success in the 1990s and coached Iraklis during the 2005-06 season.

Sani Becirovic needs just 2 more assists to reach 20th place on the Euroleague’s career assists charts. He currently has 278 assists in 107 career games.

Walsh was named Week 2 MVP after scoring a season-high 32 points on 7-for-9 three-point shooting against Maroussi BC.

Walsh leads the league this season with 22 points scored per game and 17 three-pointers made.

Walsh has made multiple three-pointers in every game this season.

Vladimir Golubovic produced his first career double-double last week with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Maccabi.

Uros Slokar is last in the league among qualified players in three-point shooting will 1 made in 17 tries (5.9%).

Gasper Vidmar is last in the league in free throw shooting among qualified players with just 3 made in 14 tries for 21.4 %.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS
Maroussi BC
"Nothing has changed my opinion about Olimpija, which is a talented team with experienced players and a good coach. We beat them on the road, but this doesn’t mean a lot. Although we have lost five of six games so far, we keep our motivation alive and we do not surrender. Now we return at OAKA to try for the first home victory and make our fans happy. To be honest, OAKA is too big for Maroussi, so it is not the court that puts pressure on our opponents, but we have to play here and make everything possible to win. The key point for this game is not to allow Olimpija to find its rhythm, because they have offensive talent and can hurt us."
ZDOVC, JURE
Union Olimpija
"There is no other chance for us. We have to win this game if we want to carry on dreaming on the Top 16. Our Adriatic League win against Cibona improved our confidence and I am sure that we can beat Maroussi in Athens if we play the way we did on Sunday. At the same time, we are aware that winning in Athens is not enough. We paid a high price for our loss in the first game against Maroussi, so if we win in Athens, we must do the same against CSKA in Ljubljana and most probably do it again against Lottomatica in the final regular season date in Rome. Luckily, we don't have any injury troubles, so we are travelling to Greece with our full roster apart from Vlado Ilievski, who will not be able to play in this phase."

Players

NADJFEJI, STEVAN
Maroussi BC
"All Euroelague games are difficult, no matter if you play at home or away. I have a lot of respect for Olimpija, but I think that we can beat them if we will follow our strategy and keep our concentration. Defense and rebounding will be the main factors."
ALEKSANDROV, NEMANJA
Union Olimpija
"Coach Jure Zdovc said it clear: we have to win. We are aware that our team has enough talent to get a road win in Athens. We cannot repeat what we did in the first game. We played well against Maroussi for 35 minutes in Ljubljana, but lost control in the final 5 minutes and could not get a win that would have helped us a lot right now."
Michalis Pelekanos - Maroussi BCMaroussi BC enhanced its Top 16 hopes by completing a regular season sweep of Union Olimpija with a 74-62 home win on Wednesday in Athens. Maroussi is now 2-5 and just one victory out of all-important fourth place in Group C before the team sitting alone there, 3-3 Lottomatica Roma, plays on Thursday. Union Olimpija fell to 1-6 and will need to now pass Maroussi in wins to have a chance at reaching the Top 16. Maroussi used a 14-4 run in the opening minutes of the final quarter to push a modest lead to 15 points. Jared Homan led the way for Maroussi with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Michalis Pelekanos added 12 points while Kostas Kaimakoglou had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Matt Walsh paced Olimpija with 12 points. Sani Becirovic seconded him with 11 points and 3 assists while Nemanja Aleksandrov chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds. After trailing by 14 in the first quarter, Olimpija fought back by turning up the tempo and, despite not scoring for 5 minutes of the third quarter, cut the difference to 4. That was as close as the visitors would get, however, as Maroussi proved too strong in the final period.

Gaspar Vidmar opened the scoring for Olimpija before Pelekanos hit a layup and a finger roll to get Maroussi on the board. Jamon Lucas found Homan open off an in-bounds play for an easy 2 points before Kaimakoglou threaded a nice pass to Homan for a layup. Pelekanos then got position inside for a bucket, Kaimakoglou threw down an alley-oop pass served up by Lucas, and Homan put back a miss to cap a 16-2 game-opening run. Becirovic finally got a layup to fall for the visitors, and then passed to an open Uros Slokar for a three-pointer. Homan connected on a jumper, but Dusan Djordjevic also found the range from downtown to cut the difference to 18-10. Pelekanos hit a pair of free throws and Kaimakoglou worked inside for the short bank shot. Billy Keys and Aleksandrov traded pairs of free throws, Pat Calathes hit a baseline jumper, and Keys made a layup to put Maroussi ahead 28-14 after 10 minutes.

Gasper Vidmar - Union OlimpijaSlokar used a quick drop step to start the second-quarter scoring. Aleksandrov followed with a triple from the top to lower the difference to single digits. Dimitrios Mavroeidis responded for the Maroussi by tossing in 2 free throws, and Georgios Diamantopoulos swished a triple from the wing to push Maroussi back ahead. Walsh used a pick-and-roll to free Vidmar for a slam. The Olimpija center banged for another basket before Saso Ozbolt dished to Aleksandrov for the layup, but Homan stuffed another drive by Djordjevic and Kaimakoglou added free throws for Maroussi. Walsh drilled a super-deep three-pointer to beat the shot clock before Ozbolt found Vladimir Golubovic for the layup-plus-free throw to cut the lead to 38-31. Keys scored 2 foul shots, and Homan made a deep jumper from the baseline before Aleksandrov hit an open three-pointer. Becirovic turned a steal Walsh into a reverse layup as Olimpija further trimmed the margin to 42-36 at the half.

Both teams started the third quarter cold as the defenses short-circuited the opponents attack. Lucas finally moved the scoreboard with one-handed slam his team's three-minute scoring drought. Mavroeidis added free throws before Walsh ended Olimpija's nearly 5 scoreless minutes. Pelekanos scored in close to reestablish a double-digit lead, 48-38, for Maroussi. After Walsh hit free throws, Olimpija tried a 2-3 zone, but Kaimakoglou drew Slokar's fourth foul, then broke out for a transition layup to make it 51-40. Becirovic penetrated for a tough layup then hit a corner triple to keep Olimpija close. Walsh spun to the basket for a layup to cap an 0-7 burst by Olimpija that reduce the deficit to 4 points, 51-47. The Olimpija kept stifling Maroussi's attack until Homan's free throw ended the third quarter 52-47.

Keys passed to Homan for a layup to start the final quarter, and it seemed to free Maroussi. Homan soon added a pair of free throws, Stevan Nadjfeji connected on a three-pointer, and Pelekanos made a breakaway layup to suddenly push the hosts ahead by 61-47 lead. Becirovic finally stopped the 9-0 Maroussi run by finding Vidmar for a layup. Lucas made a two-pointer, but Golubovic tipped in a miss by Walsh. Lucas found Nadjfeji for another three-pointer to give the home team a15-point lead. Golubovic got inside for a dunk, but some nice ball movement ended in a layup by Nadjfeji. Walsh drained a three-pointer off a busted offensive set, and Ozbolt hit a floater on the baseline. Calathes added 2 more from the foul line and Maroussi took care of business to close out the win.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: FACCHINI, FABIO (ITA), VOJINOVIC, MILIJA (SRB), RUTESIC, ZDRAVKO (MNE)
Attendance: 500
By Quarter1234
Maroussi BC28141022
Union Olimpija14221115
End of Quarter1234
Maroussi BC28425274
Union Olimpija14364762
Head coach: BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS
Maroussi BC
# 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 MILOSEVIC, IGOR 17:33           1 1 2         2 2 3
5 KEYS, BILLY 20:57 6 1/4 0/2 4/4   1 1 2   3       1 2
7 PELEKANOS, MICHALIS 23:42 12 5/7 0/2 2/2   1 1 2 3 1 2   2 2 15
8 BATIS, MARIOS 15:30     0/1     2 2 1 3 2     3    
9 HOMAN, JARED 21:35 15 6/8   3/9 4 2 6   1 2 2   4 5 15
10 DIAMANTOPOULOS, GEORGIOS 6:36 4   1/1 1/2                   1 4
11 MAVROEIDIS, DIMITRIOS 18:25 8 1/2   6/6 4 5 9     3     1 6 18
12 CALATHES, PAT 12:35 4 1/2 0/2 2/2       1 1 1       1 3
13 ARIGBABU, STEPHEN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 NADJFEJI, STEVAN 13:43 8 1/1 2/3     1 1   1 1     3 1 6
15 KAIMAKOGLOU, KOSTAS 26:17 11 3/5 0/1 5/7 2 4 6 3 1 1     2 5 18
22 LUCAS, JAMON-ALFRED 23:07 6 3/6 0/3   1 2 3 4 2         2 11
Team             3 3               3
Totals 200:00 74 21/35 3/15 23/32 11 22 33 15 12 14 4 0 17 26 98
60% 20% 71.9%
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: ZDOVC, JURE
Union Olimpija
# 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
7 BECIROVIC, SANI 24:48 11 3/7 1/4 2/2 1 2 3 3 2 2   1 1 4 12
8 KLOBUCAR, JAKA 7:39   0/1           2   1     2   -2
9 BAVCIC, EDIN 13:47     0/2     2 2     2     4 2 -4
10 DJORDJEVIC, DUSAN 14:28   0/1     2   2     1   1 4   -5
11 KIKOWSKI, PAWEL 4:03 3 0/1 1/1                   1 1 2
12 ALEKSANDROV, NEMANJA 23:20 10 1/5 2/4 2/2 1 5 6   2       1 2 13
13 VIDMAR, GASPER 16:17 6 3/4   0/2 1   1   1 4     3 1 -1
14 MILLAGE, CURTIS 8:55 2 1/2       1 1 1 2 1         4
15 SLOKAR, UROS 12:25 5 1/3 1/1     4 4     2     4 1 2
21 GOLUBOVIC, VLADIMIR 14:11 9 4/7   1/1 3 1 4     3   1 1 3 8
31 OZBOLT, SASO 28:36 4 2/3 0/3     4 4 3 1     1 4 1 4
44 WALSH, MATT 31:31 12 2/3 2/5 2/2 2   2 2 2 2     2 2 12
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 62 17/37 7/20 7/9 12 21 33 11 10 19 0 4 27 17 48
45.9% 35% 77.8%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS
Maroussi BC
“This is our first win at home and we are very happy. I repeat that Olimpija is a team with a lot of quality that came here in a good shape. I am very satisfied because tonight we played with discipline and unselfishness and that’s why all the players were searching for the extra pass. We also did well on defense and we got a lot of confidence for the offense. Since our injured players have returned to the court we have more quality and a better rotation.”
ZDOVC, JURE
Union Olimpija
“We didn’t deserve to win because Maroussi played tougher, smarter and with more discipline. Our reaction in defense was bad. I should say that we played soft, so I decided to use a zone, something I don’t like. I believe that Maroussi deserves to advance to the Top 16, and I want also to declare that from now I am a fan of them.”

Players

PELEKANOS, MICHALIS
Maroussi BC
“We played well enough both in defense and offense and the result is fair. We didn’t allow them to play their game. We kept playing, trying for the best possible result and one thing is sure: we don’t give up.”
BECIROVIC, SANI
Union Olimpija
“You cannot say a lot of things after such a game. It is simple: we played bad and the result is fair.”
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