Why Olympiacos don't mind hosting Zalgiris behind closed doors / News - Basketnews.com

As Olympiacos Piraeus are preparing to host Zalgiris Kaunas without fans, BasketNews looks back at the memorable night that caused the sanction and the historical visit that lies ahead.

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

On the night of May 4, the Peace and Friendship Stadium was set on fire. Olympiacos Piraeus were up by six (94-88) against AS Monaco in the tie-breaker of a playoff series to remember.

Only a few seconds were separating the Reds from sealing their return to a EuroLeague Final Four after five yearswhensomething unexpected happened.

Hundreds of local fans jumped onto the court, wanting to celebrate the occasion. Some of them were holding flares, and others were just jumping and screaming. The MC, Mike Fountedakis, was trying to make clear to everyone that the game wasn't over yet, to no avail.

After almost ten minutes, the impatient fans were persuaded to temporarily return to their seats or places near the court until the official big celebration would commence.

It looked like Olympiacos fans took it personally when Kevin Durant visited Monaco and Piraeus to support his friend and former Panathinaikos player, Mike James. Therefore they created an atmosphere KD could not forget.

The night gave the Nets' superstar a run for his money; not only with a game going neck-and-neck but also with scenes off the floor: an ear-splitting noise and hundreds of Olympiacos fans creating scenery that Durant would call "The apocalypse" on his Twitter account.

"Bring a flare to an NBA game if you want, and you might be in Rikers [jail in New York]," he added regarding the crazy atmosphere at Peace and Friendship Stadium in Greece.

The videos and the images circulating across the internet depicting fans literally dancing and jumping around next to each other while some of the ecstatic players joined in were the souvenirs of a night to remember. Well, not for everyone.

"I'm surprised you're taking us so far back. To be honest, I've completely forgotten about it," Olympiacos' head coach Giorgos Bartzokas told the media when BasketNews reminded him of the incidents ahead of the Greeks' first EuroLeague game of the season in their home court.

Olympiacos will have to play Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday night without fans just because of the incidents that took place on May 4.

For those who might not recall, Olympiacos fans had invaded the court right at the buzzer of Game 4 vs. FC Barcelona in 2015. Five months ago, the team put together by Bartzokas provided some strong reasons for all kinds of celebrations, no matter how impermissible, illegal, or even dangerous they were.

Ironically, Euroleague Basketball was quick to condemn the lasers, the flares, the invasion, and everything that took place on and off the court by issuing an announcement roughly an hour after Game 5.

Almost 24 hours later, the governing authority of Europe's premier competition imposed a €53.001 fine on the Reds, accompanied by one game behind closed doors. That's probably a way more lenient punishment than even the most fanatic Greek fans would hope for.

One can easily grasp why Olympiacos fans were ecstatic to see their team return to the Final Four after four uneventful campaigns. On a night full of emotion, stress, special guests, and high stakes, they managed to steal the show once again - for better and for worse.

Guard Thomas Walkup told BasketNews that the thing he'll cherish forever is "just the last ten seconds or so."

"The flares going off, the smoke rising up, fans chanting," he described. "All of this happening at once. It was just beautiful, really beautiful. I've seen some pretty things in my life, but being able to look up with this feeling was as good as it gets."

The experienced guard stressed that none of his teammates prepared him for what was going to take place at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in case Olympiacos won.

"I had no idea. I just saw people running on the court. It's a privilege to play here for such a passionate fanbase. Most people never get to experience something like this in their life."

Winning Game 5 vs. Monaco added another dimension to the triumph, and Walkup went one step further.

"Now, I'm almost happy we lost Game 4 so that we could advance here. In hindsight, it all turned out for the best," the former Zalgiris Kaunas player said with a smile.

The feelings were similar for forward Shaquielle McKissic.

"It's unreal. I don't think I'll be able to appreciate it until I get home. That was too much dopamine going into my head. I think tomorrow I'll be more appreciative of what happened tonight," one of Bartzokas' first signings told BasketNews after Game 5 had finished.

The meeting had taken place outside Olympiacos locker room, as the rowdy fans were still chanting inside the arena and the atmosphere had become suffocating from the smoke.

"That was crazy. I was in a few headlocks; my jersey came over my head, and I managed to put it back over. It was wild!" McKissic recalled.

"I appreciate the fans. For us, it was crazy too. We weren't expecting that. Every time that firecrackers go off, it's wild."

Next to him, his wife Beril was shocked to watch her husband get lost in a sea of delirium.

"I almost fainted," she confessed with a tone of relief.

When Quincy Acy was asked how he experienced Game 5 from the bench, he conveyed an image vividly resembling the one Durant described in his tweet.

"In America, you never have anything like that. No flares, no loud noise. It's more of a soccer culture compared to American sports like football. It's something that I can't explain to anyone that hasn't seen it.

I was in Israel. Any time we played derbies and rival games, it was crazy. Fans were throwing stuff, so I was prepared. Still, Olympiacos have more fans than Maccabi, and Greece is a bigger country," the former NBA player told BasketNews at Olympiacos' Media Day before the 2022 EuroLeague Final Four.

Credit Imago-Scanpix

But let's focus on the present, as Bartzokas is keen on doing. The Greek coach, 57, said leaving everything behind isn't a choice he made.

"It's because these are the conditions in professional sport. The demands are great, and the only thing that counts is what happens tomorrow," he explained.

"If you look it up on the internet, our Final Four qualification was something that made Olympiacos fans very happy. But this has already been forgotten," Bartzokas maintains.

"Sport works like that, and the real challenges are ahead of us. You can reflect on what has happened in the past only when you retire from professional sport."

On the other hand, Alec Peters doesn't need to reflect on anything. The American forward, who came to Piraeus from Vitoria last summer, may be a newcomer, but he knows that the empty -or the full- gym can be a double-edged sword for those who haven't grown accustomed to the atmosphere.

"Maybe for some of the new players, it's good to have one game without fans, making sure that we're familiar with the home court before the loud atmosphere comes. But it's going to be great when we have the fans here," Peters noted at the Reds' Media Day ahead of the game vs. Zalgiris.

Although Olympiacos' fans would love to watch their team from up close, as the three-time EuroLeague champs appear as a solid candidate for another memorable run, there's another dimension to the 'empty arena' discussion.

Quite interestingly, the first game fans will be allowed to attend in the current campaign is against Peristeri next Sunday evening. What would have otherwise been a routine Greek league outing is now becoming a save-the-date event in its own right, whose significance and symbolism almost surpasses any EuroLeague contest.

Vassilis Spanoulis, probably the most important figure in Olympiacos BC history, returns to the place he calls 'home' as the head coach of an opposing team.

If anyone discussed it with an Olympiacos fan, that would be labeled as the 'must-watch' game of the week, not the one against Zalgiris. Spanoulis retired in 2021, while Olympiacos prepared a special ceremony to honor him 13 months ago.

But his presence provides enough motivation for anyone to watch or attend the game, regardless of how competitive Peristeri will turn out to be. In any case, the 40-year-old rookie coach has already recorded two wins in as many games under his new capacity.

Alec Peters wasn't at Olympiacos when Spanoulis played from 2010 through 2021. He's not even aware of who will come for a visit on Sunday (18:15 CEST). However, there's one thing he does know "for sure", as he said.

"It's going to be worth the wait. When we do have our first real home game with fans, the atmosphere's going to be worth this time."

Some words of wisdom.

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