Bartzokas and Fall about Barcelona (vid)

Our team's coach, Giorgos Bartzokas talked about the way Barcelona likes to play and on how Olympiacos must present themselves in order to win, during his statements for the upcoming 26th Euroleague round game.

"The difficulty of each game is obvious when it unfolds. The intensity with which Euroelague games are played is very specific, but there are teams that play with more possessions, like Paris, as well as Barcelona, that both play at a very high tempo. It's obvious that Barcelona feels comfortable when the game goes to high scoring because they have quality talent, because their coach likes that kind of game. We must defend well, just like we did against Paris, to cope with the demands of the game". 

Asked how easy it is for the team to play against 2 different teams in less than 48 hours: "The problem is that we also had to travel, traveling during a double-game week is not an easy thing to do. You need to expand the rotation by a lot, and since we are short of guards, had a hard time doing it last night. I think though , if we follow the plan and we don't appear to be complacent with last night's win and ranking first seed, that we have the quality to have a good chance at winning, but we have to do all the things that make us a good team". 

On his part, Moustapha Fall, asked about the game against Paris in France, said: "It's always good to return home. So, it was a good moment. The family was here. Everyone came, so I enjoyed it". 

Asked if the team will be able to win against Barcelona, and maintain the high intensity levels demanded by the occassion, he pointed out: "I think that we must do it, because there are no excuses for anything else. Everyone has a tough schedule. We all face difficulties, so we must play better, play a good game and see what happens". 

About the fact that it is probable the blaugran are under greater pressure to get this win and how this affects the 'red & whites' mindset: "We try to stay motivated from every game. If we have a bad run, we might end up fourth or fifth seed. Everyone is close to one another, so we need to be serious about all games. I think the team is ready for the game at hand".