Sfairopoulos: «The fans are going to be important»
Olympiacos hosts Panathinaikos Superfoods for the 6th day of the Euroleague at the SEF on Friday (10/11/2017, 20:00 CET) and Giannis Sfairopoulos got to talk about the game against the "greens".
"Following the game in Barcelona, tomorrow we play in our home for the Euroleague and we need to return to positive outcomes. We play a local derby against Panathinaikos, but this time for the Euroleague, they know us and we know them well. They are a very good tem. I think we have a great opportunity to show everything we have worked for during practices and with focus follow our plan and get a positive result. My understanding is that we are sold out for tomorrow. We need our fans to help us with their voices only". In regard to the "poor" offensive production of the two most recent games, he commented: "We are not satisfied by our offensive performance in the last two games. There was imbalance. We need to better read the details in set offense, so we can execute better". He then talked about the benefits of the loss in Spain… "Ok, when you play a very bad game, defeat hurts, but it also shows you your weaknesses and all those you need to improve. We did that after Barcelona. We want to improve on our mistakes. Improve some elements of our game. Because after Barcelona we did not get to practice due to the semi final against Aris".
Coach Sfairopoulos has many times stressed that time works in favor of his team and got to repeat that once again: "Each practice helps us improve. But it is also games that help us get better. The more the time passes we are going to be getting better through games and practicing. We have many new players in our roster and within the starting five. We have played good games up to now. The important thing is for everyone to come back healthy and to perform at our highest potential. It's not that we haven't been playing well, but we need to improve on small details".
Olympiacos and Panathinaikos know each other very well; however, the coach and his associates have paid extra attention to our team's next opponent… "When you prepare a game, you watch your opponent's recent games. We have watched the game against AEK and their Euroleague game. You see both their strengths and their weak spots. We study every detail when scouting".
On whether the recent signee, Kyle Wiltjer, will be included in the line up, he answered: "He hasn't still adjusted to the team. I haven't decided yet. I'm sincerely deciding on this at the last moment".
In regard to the condition of Vasilis Spanoulis, he repeated: "I have said about Vasilis, that only when his leg is healed completely, he will start practicing with the team. Since he has been out for a long time, he's going to be needed a lot of practice sessions before he can play, not just a couple. There's still time for that…"
Finally, he talked about the importance the team's sixth player is going to be: "The fans are really important. We played without them by our side in the first derby of the season and we are still playing without any fans in our gym for the Greek League. Also, some of the players have not still seen the gym full with our fans and I'm glad they are going to see that tomorrow. The important thing is how we played in Barcelona and not that we lost by 22. The players don't live on another planet, they know that Panathinaikos has lost two back to back games, they haven't won on the road for the Euroleague and they are going to do all they can to win. They are aware of it, but the important thing is for us to remain focused and stick to our plan. We need to be determined and follow our plan".
«We are happy that the SEF is going to be packed»
Giorgos Printezis chose to focus on the substance of the result and not to all else that accompany an Olympiacos - Panathinaikos derby: "The main reason is this… We need to recover from our loss in Barcelona. We all know that the Euroleague is a marathon and you don't get breaks easily. We play in our gym and we want to win the most games possible in our home court. We are happy up to now, but we still have a long way to go and we need to win as many games as possible to achieve our goal".
Talking about Panathinaikos, he said: "Maybe the result does not do them justice. They played very well in Vitoria last week. But we all know that certain games have different gravitas. They are totally different". Asked on what has changed in regard to the premiere game, the reds' forward said: "I think that we are more ready as a team. We have an extra solution from the perimeter, because we had played without Roberts at the time. Vasilis is not going to be with us and I wish he returns the soonest possible. I think that we are quite improved as a team". On whether the sold out adds extra pressure to him and his team mates: "No, there is no extra pressure. On the contrary… We are happy about it. We wish to thank our fans for packing the gym and may most games are like that. We know it's not easy to happen. I'm sure the fans are going to give us extra motivation and energy".
And ended up saying: "I've said it before. We want to react. It will not be good to lose a second game in a row for the Euroleague. We had a steady course last season and we want to do the same this season as well. Our game in Barcelona, but also the one against Aris, was not the way we wanted offensive wise".
«Happy to be playing»
He watched the fist Olympiacos - Panathinaikos match up as a spectator due to injury. Now Brian Roberts is happy to be playing and ready to win! "It's a good opportunity to return to performing well. We played a bad game in Barcelona, but it's simply one game. We need to use it to improve on our mistakes. I hadn't played in the first game against Panathinaikos, but I'm happy to be playing tomorrow. We have had the control of that game, but let it slip away. So we need to learn from that first game and use to win".