Bartzokas: «Our chances depend on whether we play a good game»
Olympiacos is determined to return to a good competition standing during this double game week, that starts tomorrow (02/02, 20.45 CET) in Madrid against Real, for the 24th round of the Euroleague.
“Only my associates have been preparing for the second game”, was what Giorgos Bartzokas made clear, when asked whether the ‘reds’ have prepared for the road games against Real and Baskonia. “The whole team has prepared for the first game, the one against Real. And that’s where we are solely focusing on right now. Only if you play well you have chances at winning. It’s not easy. Real lost its latest Liga Endesa game and it’s very difficult that they lose a second game in a row. So to exhaust our chances, we really have to play a very good game and implement our plan almost to its entity”.
About the reasons the team’s subpar recent performances, he said: “I don’t use that as an excuse, however, we have had thirteen players down with COVID in the last month. What can we do? It would be close to a miracle for the team to be able to continue at a high level. It would be irrational, not normal”.
Finally, asked on how he and his players manage this ‘crisis’, he replied: “The Euroleague is constructed in a way that you cannot plan for any particular type of management, neither when you lose nor when you win. What you do is to accept what you have done well and what not and move on to the next game. Now, if some players seem out of shape or the whole team does not play that well because COVID has had an impact, that’s only a fact. However, no team will be playing at the same high level from the beginning to the end of the season. All teams are going to go through a ‘down’ period. We have a time stretch ahead of us that we need to make a come back and return to good performances. We have the Greek Cup Final Four to play and many important Euroleague games, but also some for the Greek League. Through work and playing collectively is going to do it”.