Bartzokas: «The atmosphere today was fantastic»
Satisfied with the result but not with his players’ performance, Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas spoke about the game:
"The atmosphere in the gym today was fantastic. There were a lot of kids in the stands, families. Unfortunately, we didn’t satisfy them as much as we would have liked by playing better basketball with more intensity, speed, and for a longer period. We only did that at the end, when we needed to win. In a way, I imagine this is a bit normal. We returned at 7 on Saturday morning from Bologna, we didn’t have a proper training session, and today we came to play the game after just watching a video, against a team that had both motivation and a ranking objective. They wanted to be competitive against a team like Olympiacos, they did that to a large extent, and they deserve congratulations. Right now, we’ve given priority to the EuroLeague, where the games are very demanding. There are seven left until the end of the regular season, and we need to be ready for every one of them. We understand that the players are more focused there because the championship is no longer as decisive."
Asked about the seriousness of Nigel Williams-Goss’s injury and when Saben Lee would be ready to enter the Olympiacos roster, Bartzokas replied: “Goss has an ankle sprain, there’s some internal swelling in the joint, but he did an MRI, and it’s not something serious. I believe that in two days, he’ll start training and will be available for the game against Partizan. Lee did an individual workout with one of my assistants when we were in Bologna and another one today. He’s in very good condition because he has been playing. It depends on how quickly he adapts to the offensive and defensive plays we’ll implement for the Partizan game. However, I think he will be in the lineup because, at this moment, with Thomas’ absence, we needed to bring him in. First of all, because we believe in his talent, and we didn’t sign him only for this period. The Presidents gave a large sum for his buyout because we believe in his talent and development. We were watching him even before he went to Maccabi. When the opportunity arose, we signed him. The sooner he adapts to the team’s mentality, the better it will be for us. I hope he manages quickly and will help us immediately."