Bartzokas: «It's rare for professional basketball what Kostas has done»
Talking in view of the game against Real Madrid for the 22nd round of the Euroleague (16/01, 20:45 CET), our team's coach Giorgos Bartzokas talked about the specificities of the battle with the Madrilene, following the win over Baskeonia in the overtime, but also about the Kostas Papanikolaou record for games played
«We want to win. How we are going to to do that depends on many things. First of all, how fresh we are going to be following last night's win the in the overtime, secondly we will need more players in the rotation, more players in good condition, so that the rotation opens up and we reduce the minutes the players who played in the game with Baskonia have to play. Then, we must be very compact defense wise and also in offense, we must play a better game in defense. Our defense against Baskonia was not proper for the level of importance games at that time carry. Nevertheless, we proved to be a team that plays to win, and that's what we are going to do tomorrow too», he said, when asked about the difficult mission the team has in Madrid.
Asked about the competitive recovery of the Madrilene, he pointed out: «It would happen at some point, they had players coming in and going out due to injuries, now they are more consistent. For instance, Musa. There's a line up that's somewhat more formed, with the forwards playing the '3' and '4' position. There is a coach that's with the team for a really long time and they know his philosophy. I think that everyone expected Real would be playing better than how they were playing in the beginning and they would become the team with 6 consecutive wins. It's only certain they are going to fight for a good playoffs spot. The Euroleague is obviously a Marathon, there are too many games and you can't just rule out Real, no matter how they were playing at first. Each game has its own specificities. I think how 'fresh' the teams will be after last night's games will play a big role».
About Papanikolaou's record for European games played: «I talked to the team yesterday about Kostas. I don't know what the Greek word for loyalty is. To remain loyal to a team, with whatever that entails has always been something very special in sports, especially sports nowadays. For a player to have a big career, for so many years, not in any one team, but in a team under huge pressure and constant scrutiny, but also of special management when winning titles, is something extremently important. Especially in contemporary professional sports, when everybody comes and goes, sometimes every six months or so... Kostas is the opposite of a peddler and since Olympiacos is a big club, he deserves all honors for that historic record»!
Papanikolaou: «My record would not be achieved if not for the trust of my coaches and the Presidents of Olympiacos»
On his part, Kostas Papanikolaou, asked about the landmark of 350 games played in the 'red & white' jersey, stated: "responsibility is huge when you play for a club like Olympiacos. Responsibility and pressure are always there... But that helps you succeed and become better every passing day. I don't like talking about me, but I feel blessed for reaching that record, which would not have come by without the trust my coaches had in me all these years and mainly that of the Olympiacos' Presidents who trusted me to be with the team for years now".
«I'm blessed for my career, for the club, for everything we have lived through together... It's all those moments that make it magical and for Giorgos (Printezis), Vssilis (Spanoulis) and Milan (Tomic) to talk about it like that makes it a huge honor and I'm trying to live up to the expectations they themselves have created for the club», we added when asked about the apotheosis he received from the legendary team captains,
THE FULL STATEMENTS IN THE VIDEO THAT FOLLOWS