By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
On a big night in Piraeus, Evan Fournier delivered a historic performance, scoring 36 points to lead Olympiacos to a crucial victory over Fenerbahçe.
Rather than attributing his standout display -it was his best scoring night in the Euroleague- to a single factor, Fournier described it as the product of multiple elements coming together. “It’s a combination of many things. Over a season, you’re going to have one or two big games, and this was one of them”, he said, talking to Eurohoops and Antonis Stroggylakis.
Part of that motivation, however, stemmed from recent frustration. Fournier openly acknowledged that his previous game, in which he was ejected after an altercation with a courtside fan, influenced his mindset. “I felt like I let the team down. That’s not leadership. The team sees me as a leader, and I have to be better. Guys, sitting court sizes are one thing, but the bottom line is I was ejected from the game, and I wasn’t able to help. It was a close game; we had to use more bodies, guys playing more minutes, which is not good leadership for me. I apologized to the coach, and I think we moved on”.
Despite the emphatic win against the best team this year in the Euroleague, Fournier rejected the idea that this was Olympiacos’ best performance of the season. “We’ve had better games. We were solid, but we could have done better.”
The guard also pointed to inconsistency as the team’s main challenge moving forward. “We have had ups and downs. Some teams give us problems, like Monaco. That’s where we stop playing good basketball. And we’ll face those teams again in the playoffs. To me, that’s the key for us to have the season that we want to have,” he warned.
Another key element of the night was his connection with the fans. The home crowd loudly chanted his name throughout the game, something Fournier deeply appreciated. “I really appreciate it. I think they know I was upset about the game. The more they give me, the more I want to give back, and it’s been our relationship since day one”.
Finally, Fournier revealed a symbolic moment after the game alongside team captain Kostas Papanikolaou, talking about an internal “contract” within the team: “We want to achieve big things. Games like this reinforce that will.”