«Victory had been a one way street»

Kostas Sloukas spoke to olympiacosbc.gr about Olympiacos’ great victory in the home court of Maccabi Tel Aviv and what follows in both Euroleague and Greece.

The left handed guard of the European and Greek Champions admitted that “there had been pressure. The absences, the fact that the objection on the game against Siena had been rejected, put more pressure on the team, but I think we managed all issues well. We knew that following what had happened, victory in Tel Aviv was a one way street”. As for the reaction of himself and his team mates after what followed the game against Siena, the 22 year old guard was clear. “We got determined, all of us”.

Kostas Sloukas also commented the last play of the game and said “I was expecting for the time to run out. I was in the bench and was looking both at the board and what was happening on the floor and when I saw the board red and heard the ending signal I went into the court to celebrate with my team mates. It was a very important victory in a very tough court”.  

In regard to what follows in Greece and in the Euroleague, the team of Giorgos Bartzokas has to play against PAOK and Fenerbahce/Ulker. “We have to leave all of the above behind us. We have a tough game in Thessloniki against PAOK and then the game against Fener, which we have to win for the victory in Tel Aviv to become of substance. But at the moment, our minds are sincerely only on the game against PAOK. They have proved they have a combative team that fights every game and they are especially competitive in their home court where they haven’t lost a game. We are going there with the sole purpose of winning and we are going to do all we can to succeed. So, we continue with the same concentration since the games are continuous and don’t leave any room for relaxation”.