Sfairopoulos: Olympiakos is the final’s outsider

Olympiakos will face Fenerbahce in Sunday’s Euroleague final, after the Turks beat Real Madrid in the second semi on Friday, and the Reds’ coach Yiannis Sfairopoulos said on Saturday his team is the underdog, against a quality side that is in great form and plays at home.

Sfairopoulos, who led the Reds to a four-point triumph over holder CSKA Moscow in Friday’s first semifinal, said at a press conference on the eve of the final in Istanbul that “Fener at this moment is in its top form, has a great group of players who play very well together, boasts the best coach in Europe and plays before its own fans.”

“Our job is hard. We are the rank outsider and we will try to make the most of our chances,” stated the Greek coach.

His opposite number, Zeljko Obradovic, said Olympiakos deserves to be in the final because it has worked exceptionally hard.

Asked how he will stop Olympiakos captain Vassilis Spanoulis, the former Panathinaikos coach said “it is not just Spanoulis, If you look at the regular season and now you will see that Olympiakos has come back in games and won them through players that are not starters. We have to watch out for each and every one of them.”

Olympiakos has tried to secure more tickets for Sunday’s final, but this was not possible.

The final tips off at 9 p.m. and will be screened live on ERT HD, ERT2 and Novasports 1HD