Bartzokas: «How we moved the ball was the key»

The coach of Olympiacos, Giorgos Bartzokas, said that the comfortable win over Fenerbahce in Istanbul was the result of proper ball movement.

“We obviously played a very good game. Winning in this court is something very difficult. We played very hard defense in the first quarter, controlled the rebounds and moved the ball enough so as to find open shots and of course, the fact that we also made them, all of these together were a kind of statement… Then we had more confidence in regard to how we were supposed to be playing up until the end of the game. Fenerbahce, in combination with the pressure their fans put in, reacted in the fourth quarter, but the difference never came down from 13 points and the three Walkup scored from the corner was what finished the game for me. We took many open shots, but for me, how we moved the ball was the most crucial part of the game. Through that, we got to find our open shooters and hence got very good percentages with our threes. In general, the way we played against the aggressive defense Fenerbahce is playing, has been critical. Congratulations to Fenerhahce, I wish them good luck. For us, the important game is the next one, against Efes”.

Asked about Kostas Papanikolaou’s performance, he replied: “He’s our captain. Tonight, he has had a very good offensive night with 21 points, however, whenever he’s on the floor, he’s doing all that is needed to get the win. Either this is defense, rebounding, assists… We are talking about a player who has two Euroleague titles and has participated a lot of final fours. So, I don’t think that the fans’ shouting could have impacted his free throws”.