Bartzokas: «We must have patience»

The patience 'recipe' that gave Olympiacos the first win over Fenerbahce is the one the 'red & whites' will be trying again in the second game (28/04, 20.30 CET) against the Turkish team. 

"We won the first game, and we have to focus on the second one, which is going to be very difficult, just like the first one", was what our team's coach, Giorgos Bartzokas stressed. "These are games when you must control your emotions and each possession counts. Regardless of winning the first game and at some point leading by 15-16 points. For us, each possession counts, and the games are decided in forty minutes and not during the first five ones". 

Asked if he expects some tricks and some changes in Fenerbahce's game, he replied: "We certainly watch what the opponent has done. They had a successful plan, which of course we knew about. They had done the same before. Somehow, we responded successfully in the games we have played against them. They generally choose not to give help on the weak side from Vezenkov and play the game two on two. We must have patience to find the open player. We did that in the third quarter, we weren't executing in the first two seconds of the offense and found quite good conditions. We have to do the same tomorrow". 

Finally, about the fact that the fans are going to be supporting the team en masse in this game also, since the tickets have sold out for some time now, he commented: "In all arenas, the playoffs are sold out. The interest is huge. The tournament is huge, the competition extremely so, the games are spectacular and are played with great intensity. Our fans are always by our side, especially when we have such an important challenge ahead, like qualifying for the Final Four. They've been supportive and we are very happy that we are part of this process".