Bartzokas: «We proved to be a serious team» (vid)

The coach of Olympiacos, Giorgos Bartzokas, thanked the fans for their continuous support and congratulated Nikola Milutinov on his double-double.

"I would once again like to express my appreciation for our fans our players for this great evening. For us, it was obviously a game we absolutely had to win, following two defeats in Spain. We proved that we at least are a serious team. It's very important to be serious and approach all games with the same mentality. Maccabi is a very strong team, a talented team. Tonight, our defense was compact and we did not allow them to score like they usually do. Especially in the second half, our defense was extraordinary and that gave us the rhythm to score easy points in the offense. Everyone knows what Moustapha Fall means to Olympiacos. I would like to make a special mention of Nikola Milutinov. The whole team tried to cover for Fall's absence. But knowing that Maccabi is the top team in defensive rebounding in the Euroleague, the fact that Nikola had 20 points and 20 rebounds proves he was dominant and he helped us win this crucial game, and that's why he deserves extra credit. All the best to Maccabi. I have to say that the situation they have experienced by living in Belgrade and traveling to Israel for some national league games is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, they've been having a very good season".

WATCH THE FULL PRESS-CONFERENCE IN THE VIDEO THAT FOLLOWS...