ATHENS — Fenerbahce overturned a 16-point deficit to defeat Olympiacos 64-61 in Athens in a rematch of last season's EuroLeague Semi-finals, grinding out victory in a low-scoring affair head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius admitted he did not expect to be so ugly.
The visitors managed just 14 points after 18 minutes and trailed by as many as 16 in a contest that was not particularly beautiful to watch, before finding a way to win late on. Jasikevicius was candid in his flash interview afterwards, insisting victories do not always have to be achieved in style. “We won this game with our character and belief. Everything was going very badly for us. Olympiacos punished every mistake we made. When they made mistakes, we missed the shots. However, we never stopped believing,” he said.
“Of course, the game could have gone either way in the last part, but we won. I think we were the much better side in the remaining 25 minutes, excluding the disaster in the first 15 minutes,” Jasikevicius added. “Sometimes, even when things aren’t going well, you have to find a way to win. That’s the truth. Some days you play beautiful, some days you play ‘ugly.’ I just didn’t expect it to be so ugly.”
The result leaves Fenerbahce tied for first place in the EuroLeague with a 6-1 record, while Olympiacos are now 5-2. Fenerbahce will visit Valencia in the next round, with Olympiacos set to play against Besiktas in Istanbul.