«We need to follow our plan»
Olympiacos visits Real Madrid on Wednesday (12/10, 21:00 CET) for the premiere of this season's Euroleague and Giannis Sfairopoulos along with Kostas Papanikolaou talked about the game against the Madrilènes.
The delegation of the Greek Champions left Tuesday afternoon (11/10) for the Spanish capitol and Giannis Sfairopoulos and Kostas Papanikolaou commented on the game against Real Madrid, which is opening the curtain of this season's Euroleague.
Giannis Sfairopoulos talked about:
The new Euroleague format: "I think that the new Euroleague format makes it a very exiting competition and we are happy to be participating the best European competition. We have looking forward to reaching this point with the official games about to begin. We have worked quite well and we are beginning our games with a very tough game on the road against Real in their home court. Real is one of the favorites to make the Final Four, they have a very good team, a team that has not changed, they have made some additions and the main roster has remained intact. We have a tough mission and we want to control the rhythm and play our game".
The keys against Real: "Real is an offensive team, they easily score on open court, they have a lot of ways to attack. We have to be ready to follow our plan, to remain focused and stay in the game to the end. This is the key".
The keys through the season: "It's a competition that needs a deep roster, we have such one, it's a competition that needs experience, we have that too. It's a competition that does not allow you to relax if you begin well, but neither despair if you happen to lose a couple of games because it's a big season. A regular season with 30 games is too big, the important thing is to remain focused, remain in the battle and play the best possible for the longest period possible".
Kostas Papanikolaou talked about:
The premiere game against Real Madrid: "We have been anxious about it, it's a very interesting Championship especially given the new format. We are going to a very tough home court against a very good team, however, we have worked very well, we are at a good readiness level and it's certain that the more time passes the better we are going to be. At this moment, we need to give our best, fight hard and play a good game. We know it's not going to be easy, we play against Real Madrid. Let's go and give our best and see what we make of it".
The dynamics of Real Madrid: "We certainly need to pay attention to the game tempo, they play very fast, they take a lot of quick shots, a lot of shots that are beyond game systems, out of balance, without paying attention to the clock. They are an unpredictable team, we need to remain focused for 40 minutes. They are a team that runs the fastbreak as easily as they can receive one. Maybe this is something we can exploit. The two teams know one another. We have played too many times against one another".
On the level of readiness of Real Madrid: "They have already played two games for their home League, they have played for the SuperCup, they have played strong games even against an NBA team, I think Real is going to be ready. I think that they are at a good level, just like we are, we'll see. We are talking about Real, we are not talking about just any team, they are going to be thinking the same about us as well, we are Olympiacos and they are Real Madrid. It's going to be a very strong game, with two teams fighting for the victory and we hope to win the game and do most of the things that need to be done right, because at this time in the season, the team that makes the less mistakes is going the be the one to win and not the one that plays better. This is what I think. We hope to be the ones that are victorious at the end".