Bartzokas: «I’m certain for our fans’ support»
Olympiacos has left the win in Kaunas behind and has concentrated on tomorrow’s game against Panathinaikos at the SEF (17/03, 20.00 CET), aiming for the win that is going to keep them in the top four trajectory.
“It’s a fact that Tuesday we got to play a very demanding game, with a trip and Panathinaikos has been preparing for our game longer”, the ‘reds’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas commented. “That’s a given, but we can invoke it as factoring into the game. It is there, but we have to get past it”.
Asked if the team’s psychology is bolstered following the win against Zalgiris and whether this is something that is going to have an impact in view of the game against the ‘greens’, he replied: “The game against Panathinaikos is always a particular one. It has some more pressure than usual, you know the facts. However, the fact that we have made the playoffs, and with a significant positive margin in the wins-losses total, I believe it to be a very important achievement of the team, mainly the players and the administration. That had been the second goal of the season, following winning the Cup which was accomplished rather early on. I want to congratulate everyone. We obviously don’t stop here. We want to be winning every game if its possible till the end of the regular season to see how we seed and what the future holds for us”.
The ‘eternals’ have already faced off three times during this season. Once for the Greek Cup final, one at the OAKA for the Euroleague and one at the SEF for the Basket League. Asked if there are tactical differences, the Olympiacos’ coach said: “We couldn’t dedicate time to Panathinaikos, because we have had the game against Zalgiris. It’s our principal that we only deal with a game after the previous one is over. The staff had of course completed scouting Panathinaikos, but the information was only passed to me and the players after last night’s game. Panathinaikos has a specific playing style, they are always well prepared by their coach and have a method as to how they play and what they bring on the floor. At the same time, as I said before, these games are particular. A lot depends on how they shoot the ball, on whether they have good percentages from outside the perimeter. When the game starts a lot of things play a role… The player’s condition, their determination, the hesitancy of some, whether they are systematically consistent and whether they avoid a lot of ups and down. There are too many factors in a basketball game. Let’s hope they are going to align in our favor and we are going to win this”.
Finally, when asked to send a message to the ‘red’ fans, he stressed: “I don’t want to be sending any message, because I’m certain about our fans. They are very supportive this year in a very positive manner. They are not putting pressure on the team, they applaud even during its lesser moments in the game and they encourage us. They have been one of the major factors that helped our team qualify for the playoffs and one of the key factors our record this season compared to the previous one that had no fans in the gym, is differentiated. I’m certain that the atmosphere is going to be warm and encouraging for the team, like always. The only thing I want to tell our fans is that our effort is not over, we have still enough things to do till the season is over”.