The eighth round of the Euroleague was marked by the Athens derby and, according to many, the future final - Olympiakos defeated Panathinaikos (94:89) in the "OAKA" arena and registered its second victory over a great rival this season, after the triumph in the Super Cup.
"Red and white" opened the game brilliantly, took an 11:1 lead, played brilliantly in the first half, especially in defense, and then broke the match in the second half through Evan Furni and came away with the fifth triumph in the Euroleague this season.
Jorgos Barcokas' team led from the beginning of the match, and was behind only once - three minutes and 15 seconds to the end when it was 83:82 for Panata. And then Fournier pulled the team together, scoring eight out of 10 points in the Olympiakos series (10-2) and leading his teammates to another triumph.
The French representative arrived at Olympiakos this summer, returning to Europe from the NBA after 12 years.
"Evan was the last player, who strengthened us this summer. I have to thank the owners for that move, but also the fans. The owners spent a lot of money to make this work happen. On the other hand, the fans were delighted when heard that there was a possibility that Fournije would strengthen us. He saw the passion they have and the job was done," said Olympiakos coach Jorgos Barcokas after the match.
Olympiakos defeated its big rival in the Euroleague for the seventh time in a row. The last defeat in this competition was suffered by the "red and whites" in November 2021.
"We led during the entire match, but Panathinaikos played very well in the second half. We deserved the victory, we have to continue playing like this," said Barcokas.
Fournije finished the game with 22 points and four assists.
"The coach prepared the game brilliantly. We tried to control the tempo, not to rush, but to dictate the rhythm. It worked in the end and I congratulate the coach for that," Fournije said after the game.
He then commented on his party.
"Every game is different. It all depends on what the team's tasks are. I can do a lot, but I try not to push, but to take responsibility when necessary," said the former basketball player of Orlando, New York, Detroit, Boston and Denver.
In another part of Athens, logically, dissatisfaction. The coach of the current champion, Ergin Ataman, believes that the team played softly, and he was also dissatisfied with the support of the fans.
"All of us - me, the players and the atmosphere were soft tonight. Everyone thinks the game was spectacular. OK, spectacular. But basketball is played to win. We didn't fight well, all together," Ataman said.
He then compared the atmosphere to that of Partizan and Crvena zvezda matches.
"The atmosphere was good, but I didn't see the atmosphere I experienced against Crvena zvezda and Partizan".
After that, he analyzed the match.
"We weren't energetic. Not even me. I made a big mistake at the end of the first half. I was too late to take a timeout and then we missed and gave them three points in the last second and we went into the locker room down eight points. "We got back into the game, but we made some embarrassing mistakes defensively, allowing Fournier to get open shots. He had a key shot when we had a one-point lead," Ataman said.
Another story of the Athens derby is over. In the next round, Panathinaikos welcomes Maccabi, while Olympiakos hosts Asvelu.
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