Bartzokas: «We must make the most of homecourt advantage»
During the media day ahead of Game 1 of the playoff series against Real Madrid (April 23, 20:30 CET), Olympiacos' coach Giorgos Bartzokas spoke about the matchup with the Madrid team and, in response to a relevant question, also discussed which players will be included in the squad.
More specifically, when asked about the playoff process, in which Olympiacos has experience - having achieved three out of three qualifications in the past three years - he said: “It definitely helps (the experience at this stage of the competition). Not so much for me - we’re not talking about me - but mainly for the players; it helps to have experience in big games. Of course, the same can be said about Real. The fact is that this is a moment we all wish to be part of. We worked hard all season to finish first. Our opponent is Real, no complaints about bad luck, that we could have had an easier draw. Every opponent has its value and its talent. All eight teams are very talented. I expect four very exciting series in all the matchups for a place in the Final Four. Ours is one of them. These are two teams with experience in such situations. The good thing for us is that we have home-court advantage; if it goes to five games, we’ll play three at home. We worked a lot for that all season. It’s important we take advantage of it as quickly as possible.”
When asked about the condition of injured players, he added: “I’m happy and pleased that we practiced with a full roster. We definitely haven’t had this level of participation since the beginning of the season. Practices were intense and competitive. However, not everyone is at the same level of physical form. In general, I’d like to go into this series taking as few risks as possible. I want to go with the players who are most ready. It’s likely that even the twelve-man rosters will differ from game to game. Just like the series itself, the first game will shape things for the second. We’re focused only on the first one. We haven’t decided yet who will be on the twelve-man roster. But we do have enough players to field twelve, because - as you know - we’ve often been playing with just 9 or 10 players lately.”
Papanikolaou: “We have to be who we’re supposed to be”
Team captain Kostas Papanikolaou also commented on the “battle” with Real: “We’re talking about a team with history, with the most Euroleague titles. They were last year’s finalists, and there haven’t been many major changes to their roster. The same players who played in the final last year are essentially still the core this year. The fact that they had a poor regular season doesn’t mean we should be complacent or think it will be an easy task. We’re going into a playoff series where you have to be focused and give everything to reach the Final Four. That’s our only goal, regardless of opponent; that’s what we’d pursue either way. With the seriousness and work we need to show on the court, if we are who we’re supposed to be, we can achieve what we want. We certainly face a very worthy opponent, but I don’t think any of the top eight, or even the top ten, teams played bad basketball this season or didn’t deserve to be here. Even the tenth-placed team deserved to fight for a playoff spot. It’s a process where a lot can change from game to game, momentum plays a huge role. That’s why we’ve been working all week, to be in the best possible shape and present our best possible version.”
When asked whether facing Real Madrid helps the team stay focused, he replied: “Our goal is to reach the Final Four and win the Euroleague. To reach that goal, we have to overcome any obstacle in our path, whether it’s considered easy or hard by public opinion. The goal has been clear since the beginning of the season. That’s what we’ve all focused on. The coach has said it many times. And as I said before, as long as we’re focused on what we need to do on the court, we’ll be fine, we’ll have the upper hand and control. We don’t have anything to fear, nor do we envy anything from any team. I believe we’re ready to fight for the wins we need to reach the Final Four.”