Bartzokas: «A very good defesive game for 40 minutes»
Giorgos Bartzokas spoke at the press conference after Olympiacos’ emphatic win over Peristeri for the 10th of the Stoiximan GBL.
In his opening remarks, our team’s coach said: “I would like to congratulate Peristeri on their season so far. If I’m not mistaken, they are rank at 4th place and have delivered big performances in Europe. They are a team with good execution, good spacing, quick ball movement and clearly defined roles. This fact made us, even though, as you understand, we had no practice at all and returned from Barcelona in the early hours of Saturday, stay alert, because we believed the opponent would not be easy.
We played a very good defensive game for 40 minutes. I would therefore like to highlight the effort of all the players, because everyone contributed, but what impressed me the most was Fournier and Vezenkov, who made a big effort defensively. Offensively we played well, executed well, had a lot of assists, over 30, I believe, and in general we were serious for the full 40 minutes.”
Then Giorgos Bartzokas referred to tying Giannis Ioannidis’ record, as he caught up with him at the top of the ‘red & white’ list, with both having coached Olympiacos 208 times in the Greek league: “It is an incredible honor and it is also very emotional for me, because we are talking about this particular person, a legend of the sport, but also because I achieved it with Olympiacos, which is a huge club and comes with a lot of pressure on the bench. All these years have not been easy for us. However, I would prefer that my time here is best evaluated when I complete my tenure at Olympiacos, and for now not to focus on individual distinctions or achievements, but on team ones, because at Olympiacos, in the end, that is the only thing that matters.”
Next, the coach spoke about Monte Morris, who arrived in Athens in the morning: “Morris arrived this morning, went straight for medical tests, and in the afternoon he asked whether the coaches would go to the gym because he wanted to go and shoot, despite the jet lag, as he had a tiring trip from Detroit via New York. He told us he had been working out, but you know his last game with the Pacers was about a month ago. Unfortunately, we don’t really get to practice. We have one practice tomorrow, mostly tactical, and then we play Valencia on Tuesday and Villeurbanne on Friday. First, we need to assess his physical condition and then see whether he can fit into the club’s system.
Except for McKissic, since we came to the team 6 or 7 years ago, there hasn’t been a case where someone arrived and within 2 - 3 days had a major impact on our game, because we play in a way that requires some adjustment. However, I think he is very smart, understands the game, as shown by his career, and if he is in good shape, he will be as impactful as the other players on our team.”
Finally, the coach commented on the fact that while children come to him in all arenas asking for autographs, at the same time there are some older people who continue to use foul language: “It’s not about holiday season arriving or anything like that. It’s about education. What saddened me was that the person who insulted me in a vulgar way was an older gentleman, but he had two small children next to him, 5 to 7 years old, probably his grandchildren. That bothered me the most. I’m very used to being insulted in arenas; it’s not a problem. But in a game where I have not provoked anyone at all, for someone to think it’s smart to insult me crudely almost in my face, while having three or four small children next to him, it doesn’t surprise me; it simply disgusts me.
As for the other thing you mentioned, it’s fantastic. Kids always attend games here; they are athletes of the Peristeri academies. And in our own arena, where we play on Sundays at 13:00 and I see so many kids attending, I think there is nothing better than that for the future of basketball.”