Olympiacos to host Efes without hero of last season's game in Piraeus / News - Basketnews.com

Kostas Sloukas and Alec Peters will probably miss a second straight EuroLeague game when Olympiacos lock horns with Efes on Friday.

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Coming off a four-game winning streak and a resounding blowout win (93-73) over Fenerbahce Beko in Istanbul, EuroLeague co-leadersOlympiacos Piraeuswant to hold their position after their clash with Anadolu Efes.

The game will be held in a packed Peace and Friendship Stadium, however, the hosts will have to make do without two key players. Star guardKostas Sloukassuffered a hematoma of the quadratus lumborum muscle in the spine last week and didn't finish the game againstMaccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

The guard didn't play in the Greek League on Sunday, and missed out on the matchup against Fenerbahce on Tuesday as well. Sloukas hit the game-winning 3-point shot when Olympiacos last hosted Efes in Piraeus - and before the two teams faced off in a classic EuroLeague Final Four semi-final in Belgrade last May.

But the Greek guard won't be the only missing piece for Giorgos Bartzokas' well-oiled machine.

Alec Peterssuffered a minor leg injury during the domestic league match vs. Aris Thessaloniki. He didn't travel to Istanbul, but that didn't change much in terms of his availability.

The 27-year-old averages 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5.4 PIR over 21 EuroLeague games this season.

"We are definitely coming off a very good performance, and certainly the two absences we had were important," Bartzokas commented.

"The problem is that there are 99% chances we're going to have these absences in the game against Efes. This means that once again, we will have to do more than what we're used to in order to win this game."

"We lost in Istanbul in the first round, although for three quarters we controlled the match," the Greek tactician continued.

Credit Olympiacos BC

"It's a team against whom you can never get out of the game plan. If you're not focused defensively and offensively, they've got so much talent that you're going to be exposed or you're going to lose momentum. We will have to be fully focused for forty minutes to do what we want," Bartzokas warned.

"Our opponent is a very good team. We know well how good their guards are. They've added [Chris] Singleton who I hold in high regard."

The two worked together at Lokomotiv Kuban in 2015-16, when the Russian team made their first-ever - and only to this day- Final Four.

"I think we need to understand that it's not a question of prestige, it's a question of concentration, will, and disposition. We want to play well and win. It remains to be seen whether we have the readiness to do so," Bartzokas concluded.

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