Bartzokas: «Peristeri deserves congratulations»
At the press conference following our team’s win over Peristeri for the 17th round of the Stoiximan GBL, Giorgos Bartzokas commented as follows:
In his opening statement about the game, our head coach said: “First of all, congratulations to Peristeri on qualifying for the next stage of their European competition. Today, they proved today that they are a very good team. For 20 minutes they played very well and at a high pace. For a team that has only been together for one year, they have very good automations, chemistry and cooperation, and they deserve congratulations. For 20 minutes we were under pressure, and then we played with more seriousness, both defensively and offensively. We limited their creation a bit with our switching defense and executed better on offense, moving the ball and playing simply. We scored quite a few points and at the same time had the opportunity to rest several players ahead of the double game week that awaits us.”
Asked about the good performance Olympiacos showed in the game, Bartzokas noted: “I don’t completely agree with you. In the first half, we were not where we should have been defensively. We didn't cooperate and lacked good communication. We allowed Peristeri to shoot 75% on 2-pointers. They dunked the ball 5 or 6 times in our basket, and that’s what we focused on at halftime. In the second half, we were much better in that area. Offensively, we had good flow and players who played simply. The two point-guards had 7–8 assists each, and overall, we played as much as was needed to win the game. I repeat; this was more difficult than we had thought beforehand. The teams in the Greek league that come here to the SEF play without pressure, with motivation and pace, and they play simply because they struggle to play one-on-one, and they make things difficult for us for stretches of time down the game. That’s something we have to take into account for the upcoming games.”
Regarding the team’s seriousness and whether Olympiacos is currently at its peak, the Olympiacos coach commented: “Generally, I want us to be serious. We may not always be attractive in terms of performance, but it’s important to be serious. We have serious players. However, something very important is at stake in these games. As you understand, we have no room for defeat in the Greek league if we want to secure home-court advantage. So, these games, on one hand, are very easy, but on the other hand, they are very difficult for coaches, because every game is a must-win. Any relaxation, any lack of concentration or respect for the opponent will create problems. As for whether we are at our peak, I don’t agree. Two point-guards are still out, Ntilikina and Morris, and Joseph just arrived and hadn’t played for 9 months, so he is just starting to get his first minutes with the team. However, I do think that we are playing that much better than at the beginning of the season, and that is also our ‘duty’ because we are all working in that direction; to get better. I believe we still have room to improve, but as long as we play unselfishly and as a team, I think we will be a tough opponent for anyone.”