Bartzokas: «Defense has been the key to winning» (vid)

Giorgos Bartzokas said that the comfortable win over Armani was due to how they defended.

“I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and especially to the Olympiacos’ fans. We began the year with a significant win, over a great team. Everyone realized that the game was very hard indeed and we have had tremendous support during the game from our fans. They key to winning was our defense, mainly in the third quarter, when we only allowed 6 points in the paint. We played superb defense. We stole 14 balls and Armani made 21 turnovers, these numbers are critical in games like that. We closed the first round with a very good record and we continue with the same mindset: staying humble and analyzing the next opponent as if it’s the last game of the season. We remain focused only on the next game”.  

On his part, the coach of the Italian team, Ettore Messina, pointed out: “Congratulations to coach Bartzokas and to Olympiacos on a very big win. I think we remained competitive for two and a half quarters. The players that had ‘carried’ us during last month, were depleted of energy at that point and we weren’t able to close in to the score. In four possessions things went different from what we had expected, some officiating calls, a foul on Hines, a bucket of our own. But these don’t have to do with the outcome, Olympiacos got a fair win”.

WATCH THE COACHES’ STATEMENTS IN THE VIDEO THAT FOLLOWS...