The most important game until… the next one is tonight (21.30) o Olympic on the way to Kaunas and Euroleague final 4.

The second match in a three-win series is arguably the most important of all, especially when a team with a home advantage defends it in the first leg, as Olympiacos did against flashlight. In these cases, according to statistics, the losing teams play their … shift in the second game, because when they win, they transfer the series for two games to their home court and put all the pressure on the back of the team that started in a better position and with an advantage.

There are many cases where the balances magically shifted in this second game, with a typical example of Olympiacos itself in 2011 being taught in workshops: beating Siena by a record 48 points difference (88-41) in the first game. in the SEF, lost two days later on the same pitch by 17 points (65-82), and then crashed out of the final four with two more losses in a row in Italy!

Bartzokas: It will be more difficult for us, maybe it will be more difficult for our opponent. We cannot take anything for granted.

“The next match will be even harder,” Giorgos Bartzokas said after Olympiacos’ 79-68 win in Game 1 of the series, but he clarified with his statements yesterday that the difficulty is higher for both teams, not just his own: “ It will be more difficult for us, maybe it will be more difficult for our opponent. We cannot take anything for granted. These are games where you have to control your emotions. Every possession matters. That’s 40 minutes, regardless of whether we won and whether we got a difference of 15-16 points in the previous match. Fener had a successful plan, we knew it because they did the same thing in the past. We have to be patient in our game, as we did in the third quarter. We didn’t convert in the first few seconds, and when we didn’t, we found enough shooting opportunities. We must do it again. I feel like we’re fine. There is no problem with any player being expelled.”

As with the series premiere, SEF tonight (21.00) will be full as it has been announced that tickets are sold out again. The series will be moved to Polis next week (Wednesday, May 3 and, if necessary, Friday, May 5), with the goal of scoring 3 wins and reaching the final four of the Euroleague (Kaunas, May 19-21). If there is a 2-2 draw at the end of next week, the 5th and decisive game will be final and will take place on May 9 or 10 at SEF.

In today’s other scheduled match, Barcelona will once again host Zalgiris, comfortably winning the first leg 91-69.