Bartzokas: «Our defense was insufficient» (vid)

In the press conference following the derby vs Panathinaikos at the SEF, coach Giorgos Bartzokas commented on our team's performance and talked about the reasons that led to the defeat.

"Congratulations to Panathinaikos, they played a very good game. They put a lot of pressure on us the way they were shooting the ball in the first half. Obviously, for them to shoot with such good percentages, we had to be insufficient with our defense. We did not put our hands on the ball, we did not go hard on the close outs... We went in a state of pressure and anxiety, trying to cope. When the second half began, we had to try and play a much better game in terms of long-range shooting, so that we in turn could put pressure on Panathinaikos. We had to take it possession by possession, but we got hasty at times. Panathinaikos controlled the game having their guards on a very good day, playing as a team and being patient. We weren't patient. We feel in a trap and fatefully lost. If you see the stats, we were better with assists, turnovers and rebounds also. Our problem was that we were shooting with less than 30% in threes and Panathinaikos had 50% and some of those threes were really crucial. It's a period with back-to-back games for us, when at the same time we are trying to get into shape, a game in Munich, tonight against Panathinaikos, Real and Barcelona are coming next. We have to be tougher defensive wise. It's the 3rd or 4th time in a row that our players did not put pressure on the ball, we did not foul. You always have to set the level of intensity when playing at home, we avoided physical contact and it was only natural for Panathinaikos to find rhythm".

YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE VIDEO THAT FOLLOWS