Bartzokas and Peters on Alba

Upon the departure of the team for Berlin and the upcoming game against Alba (04/04, 20:00 CET), Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas addressed the absences that the team must manage in yet another game.

Missing from the squad are Moustapha Fall, Nikola Milutinov, Evan Fournier, Luca Vildoza, Thomas Walkup, and Nathan Mensah.

When asked about how Olympiacos is approaching the game against the Germans: "Under the current circumstances with many absences which make our training sessions and preparation for such games more difficult, and in turn, affect the level of our performance. We are 11, and we will do our best to win. It’s not an easy game. Alba is always a team that, regardless of their position in the standings or the moment in the season, always plays to win. Evidence of this is what they’ve done in their last games. But at the same time, we don’t forget that it's first place versus last place. That might say something..."

Regarding the return of the injured players: "Fortunately for us, all are in the process of returning. Most of them very soon. That is, Fournier, Milutinov, Fall will play against Maccabi unless something unexpected happens. Walkup and Evans are in the final stages. Vildoza will be delayed a little. We believe we will be as ready as possible for the playoffs."

On the game against Alba: "With almost the entire front line out, we must play with forward-based lineups, etc. Obviously, there needs to be management in terms of rebounding, spacing on the court, but we’ve done this a few times recently due to the needs, and we believe we can do it well. We will be motivated, we want to remain in the first place, we are not indifferent. It’s not the end of the world, but we want to win the last two games, if possible, and finish at the top."

When asked about Keenan Evans and whether he will be used against Alba: "Keenan has been doing team practices this week. Theoretically, he should play after 10 days since his last official game. That is, he should do 2-3 weeks of team practices after being absent for a year. He travels with us, and we have a practice today, and we’ll all discuss together how he feels. In practices, he’s been very good, but we shouldn’t rush, he needs to feel good psychologically as well."

Alec Peters: "We need to play better basketball"

Alec Peters, when asked about the key points of the game in Berlin, said: "We need to return to what put us in the top spot for most of the season. Whether we take first, second, or any other position, we need to play better basketball. We are coming off three consecutive losses in the Euroleague, and this is something we want to change in the end, in the final part of the season, in these last two games, and it starts tomorrow."

Regarding the specifics of the game against Alba: "I think it’s the pace of the game. We can’t come out sluggish, we need to play our style of basketball. I feel that we haven’t done that very well in the last games. So, the energy needs to be there, the toughness. All the things we had for most of the season need to be there."