Bartzokas: «We want to improve on our game every day»
In the media day in view of the upcoming game of Olympiacos vs EA7 Emporio Armani Milan for the 3rd round of the Euroleague, the Piraeus team coach, Giorgos Bartokas, talked - among others - about the team's readiness level following back-to-back games.
"The team is ready, as ready as it can be, given the fact that we were playing against Aris yesterday (13/10) and we practically have one day to prepare for the game. But this is the norm for all the teams, that's how the situation is. There's not much time to prepare . Our goal is mainly to stay true to our principles and improve on our game every day".
About the fact that the team has shown new elements in its game following the return of Moustapha Fall and what it is he expects to see in view of the return of Nikola Milutinov, he noted: "They all need to be in good shape. Fall has indeed shown elements that mainly have to do with better moving the ball, but also with the fact that he's a very big target. He can easily receive the ball and create from inside to the outside. Also, he's very focused on the defensive plan and does the things the coach wants. Nikola will practice for the first time with the team today (14/10), let's see how it goes. I hope he reaches a good level soon, but it's better to wait until we see them on the floor before we make assessments".
Papanikolaou: «Armani is a team you have to be very careful when you play against»
On his part, the team's captain, Kostas Papanikolaou, asked about the readiness level of the team, at this early stage in the season, pointed out: "It's still the beginning of the season, how ready we can be from one game to the next, with only one day in-between, is a mental thing. I want to believe that we are ready. We'll see a few things at practice today, we saw some others on video. We are eager to play, we are focused but it's still the third game in six days, which is very hard. Armani may be a new team, roster wise, but they have great quality, they are a very combative time and we need to be extra careful against them".