Sfairopoulos: «We'll give our best»
A few hour after the big win over CSKA, the Olympiacos delegation left - without Giorgos Pritnezis and Nikola Milutinov - to Istanbul, in view of tomorrow's (22/12, 18.30 CET) game against Anadolu Efes.
"This is Euroleague" was what the 'reds' coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos had to say, when asked to comment on the very short period between games. "You need to be ready to play in just a few hours, regardless of the result of the previous game and regardless of fatigue. We have to be able to manage fatigue. Whoever feels tired cannot be playing for Olympiacos or for this league. Tomorrow we are going to be ready to give our best. Conditions are the same for both teams, so the energy reserves are similar. We need to be focused and forget about the game against CSKA. We have a difficult game ahead of us. Efes has changed their coach, they are going to be playing their first home game with Ataman in the bench and it's certain they are going to be fighting hard to reverse the negative situation for them".
According to the coach, experience overlaps fatigue: "We have many players that have the experience to adjust their mindset and therefore to the new situation quickly. Either we win big, or we unexpectedly lose, we have to forget about it and be ready for the next game".
On the unorthodox line up with Papapetrou as a center that was the key to the victory against CSKA, he said: "We need, depending on the game, to adjust and see who we can use at which position. We risked with Papapetrou as a '5', but we got a victory that came to cover for the gaps in our defense and for the ten point lead our opponent had built. We had to change our defense. That's where the momentum changed. What happened was ideal given the circumstances. Maybe we get to use different line ups for different situations in the future".
As for the missing players, he said: "CSKA was also missing players. The difference with us was that we experienced them more intensely since we were missing big players in the same position. But the way the guys got to play covered for everyone".
After Anadolu lost to Khimki, Ergin Ataman made his debut in the bench of the Turkish team. "We put special emphasis to the first game of our opponent with Ataman in the bench. We saw that he has added two new plays. It's certain he's going to add more and we are going to have to cope during the game. Efes has individual skills and talent. They have good scorers. We need to remain focused and stop their game. They are talented and good at one on one".
Closing, he made a special mention… "Last night's victory was also for Agravanis. He has offered for many years to the team and he's going to keep on doing it… We wish him a quick recovery and that he soon joins us again".
«Defense is going to be the key»
Brian Roberts decided to look at the positive aspect of the back to back trips! "They are difficult but they have a positive thing… You get to not practice, but don't tell this to the coach! The most important thing is to rest your mind, especially after a game like this one against CSKA, when all the players gave it all and some guys got to be on the floor for many minutes and put a huge effort. In circumstances like that, you need to rest both your brain and your body".
Asked about what he thinks gave Olympiacos the boost to win the Russian team, he answered: "It was a big game. Many guys stepped up… We were missing two key players, but we had the will, we fought and got the victory".
Finally, about the game against Anadolu Efes, he pointed out: "The key is going to be defense… Our opponent likes to run and they have very good guards that create a lot. That means a lot more work for me! However, the key, as I said before, is to stop them with our defense".