Olympiacos defeat Pinheiros to capture Intercontinental Cup

Back-to-back Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus went a long way to find a new trophy for its case as it swept FIBA Americas League winner Pinheiros Sky 86-69 on Sunday in Brazil to take home the Intercontinental Cup. The two-game tournament marked the revival of a showcase played 25 times between 1996 and 1996, but not since then until this weekend. Euroleague champions have now beaten their South American counterparts 22 of 26 times in the tournament. On Sunday, Olympiacos left little doubt as to the better team, allowing Pinheiros to lead for just one possession in the second quarter, then slowly pulling away to leads as high as 21 points after halftime. Olympiacos could have lost by up to 10 points and still taken the trophy after having won Game 1 on Friday by 70-81. Georgios Printezis led the winners with 16 points, while Vangelis Mantzaris and Mirza Begic added 10 each. Shammel Stallworth scored 27 points for Pinheiros and Joe Smith 12. 

First quarter: Pinheiros hangs tough

Paolinho Boracini scored quickly for Pinheiros and Stallworth soon followed him before Dunston scored the first points for Olympiacos. Spanoulis was left open for the game's first three-pointer and his team's first lead, 5-4. Teenage starter Dimitrios Agravanis copied his captain from the arc and Matt Lojeski tipped in an inbounds pass and suddenly the Reds had a 4-10 lead. Boracini finally ended the Olympiacos run to begin one that let Pinheiros tie 12-12 after a triple by Jonathan Tavernari. Printezis drove to restore a lead, before a parade of free throws ended with Stallworth's three-pointer making it 20-19. But Kostas Sloukas was perfect from the line to preserve the Olympiacos lead, 22-21, after 10 minutes. 

Second quarter: Reds pad Game 1 advantage

 Vassilis Spanoulis - Olympiacos Piraeus - Intercontinental Cup 2013 (photo FIBA Americas)Joe Smith put Pinheiros ahead to start the second quarter, to which Olympiacos reacted with a quick 8-0 run featuring triples by Mantzaris and Printezis. Pinheiros responded with good defense, two banked shots by Steven Toyloy and a game-tying jumper by Stallworth at 28-28. Again, Olympiacos refused to trail, as Spanoulis found Brent Petway and Dunston for transition dunks. Petway's subsequent free throws were answered by a three-pointer from Rafael Souza. Sloukas found Cedric Simmons for a layup to finish the half with Olympiacos up 40-33 on the night, but Pinheiros needing at least an 18-point swing after the break to survive. 

Third quarter: Olympiacos runs away

A wide-open triple by Mantzaris soon after halftime meant the game's first double-digit lead, 45-35, but Pinheiros quickly cut that in half again, to 47-42. The Brazilians were in the bonus due to foul trouble with 5:40 left in the third quarter, and Printezis took advantage for 4 points in a row. When he also buried a second-chance three-pointer and finished a fastbreak, Olympiacos had its biggest lead of the entire weekend, 56-42, which left them 23 points to make up in less than 15 minutes. Stratos Perperoglou came on for a pair of layups to make it 62-46 on the way to the Reds taking a 64-50 advantage into the final quarter. 

Fourth quarter: The trophy never in doubt

 Olympiacos was able to up its lead to 73-52 early in the final quarter, after which frustration set in for Pinheiros. Olympiacos kept giving fans a show of ball movement, with open shots ending some possessions in which the ball ricocheted to several players but hardly touched the floor. Georgios Bartzokas used many of his youngsters in the final quarter as his team awaited the lifting of the first Intercontinental Cup in 17 years. 

Post-game press conference

Georgios Bartzokas, head coach, Olympiacos Piraeus: “We are really happy to win the Intercontinental Cup. Today, we played a better game as we have been able to rest form the long trip and we are really happy and honored by the Greek fans here. They gave our team force to continue playing for the victory. I wouldn’t say that the difference betwen South American basketball and European basketball is that big. Pinheiros have a very organized and serious team. The biggest difference comes with the players coming from the bench, as Pinheiros has almost played with seven players. Hines and Papanikolaou had been very important for us but we have brought new players who will keep our level. We only need some time to solve some details. Regarding next season, the Euroleague is a very competitive season, a marathon not a sprint, and I think we will need to use good psychology to reach the Final Four, but it won’t be easy. With teams like Barcelona, Madrid and CSKA as powerhouses, we still see surprises every season.” 

Georgios Printezis, forward, Olympiacos Piraeus: “We are very happy to start the season with this trophy. After being Euroleague champions, it is very important to become the champion of the Intercontinental Cup after it is being organized again and to bring the cup to Greece. The organization has been great and we would like to repeat the experience with the champions of each continent. Special thanks for our fans supporting us, for the passion they feel for our country and for Olympiacos. We have new players but our core team remains from past years and we are all getting together and adapting to the details. Pinheiros is a great and strong team and can compete against any team.”