Bartzokas: «It's a tough game»
Olympiacos will be hosting Alba tomorrow (30/01, 20.15 CET), for the 24th round of the Euroleague, with the win being the only path for the 'red & whites'.
"We have great respect for Alba, their coach and their program", our team's coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, pointed out. "They always play the same, especially in their home, they have always been a hard opponent for Olympiacos. We never win with ease, maybe we won a little more comfortably in Berlin. We have also lost once, when I had first come here. They paly a specific style that relies on high tempo, on how they execute on both ends of the floor. You have to be very focused and very on point regarding the way you attack. You have to control the rebounds, which is always decisive, both defensive and offensive ones and be careful with your possessions, because if you make bad choices, they will always lead to transition of theirs. We are in a very particular situation, given that Milutinov and Fall are off, probably Petrusev as well. That means that Skima and Wright are going to be the front line. Wright is going to have his first practice session with the team today. Yesterday we practiced individually, so you can realize that I don't have anything concrete in mind. It's a game where we are going to come out to fight and it's best that no one thinks we are the favorite, or that it's going to be an easy game. It's a tough game and it's very important that we win".
On his part, captain Kostas Papanikolaou pointed out the following: "Alba have beaten Barcelona and Crvena Zvezda recently, the latter being a very competitive team and the former among the top-ranking in the League. That alone says something. The way Euroleague is structured this season, you can underestimate no-one, because you are going to find yourself in an ugly situation and we don't want that. We have no room to relax or think of anything as a given. We are entering the final stretch and we must challenge the win in every game".
About his record during the game against Real Madrid and the fact that he has had 110 straight appearances in the staring line-up, he commented: "The only thing I would find interesting about this, is for those 110 appearances to have resulted in 110 wins. Nothing more. These are nice statistics to have presented in a column, but in essence, it means nothing to the team if I was a starter or not, or who the top scorer is. I have talked about it a thousand times and and I don't want to tire you with that. The point is for the team to win and hence for all of us to succeed together. When we succeed, everyone is happy and we look good. When something is wrong, we have all failed and everyone thinks we are no good. That's the reality of the athlete and that's the reality of competing at the highest level".