Sfairopoulos: «Disappointment needs to turn into determination»
Reaction is what needed from the team according to our team's coach, Giannis Sfairopoulos, in view of the game against Maccabi Tel Aviv (16/01, 20.00 CET) at the SEF, for the 18th day of the Euroleague.
"We have a very important game ahead against a dangerous team. Maccabi plays very well in the offense, with speed, transition and they have talented players. We need to return to winning. The opponent is important, however, it's also important that we make a come back following our bad game in Vitoria. We need to show a good face, that's what everyone on the team wants. We need to play strong in defense. Stop their offensive game and not allow them to score easily. From that point on, we need to run in the offense, score easy points and be patient with the set game, 'read' it well and find the best options. We need the fans by our side. We have made a huge and substantial effort to be at the top ranks and to continue the same we need our fans that will be a huge factor for us in order to win the game".
Asked on whether the loss in Vitoria was the most difficult thing his team had to manage up to now, he replied: "No, it was not the toughest moment. Of course it was a tough night and the result does not make us proud.
However, there have even tougher moment both in this season and the previous one… For example, not qualifying to the TOP16 is not easy. It's harder to manage. We are not happy; we are stressed about what happened. But we need to turn this disappointment into determination, a good kind of anger and react".
«We need to be more creative»
Janis Strelnieks aims to an immediate come back. «Following the tough loss in Vitoria, where we played our worst game this year, we need to recover. So we are going to use that game as a teaching lesson to improve our game».
Asked about his injury, he answered… «It wasn't that serious. Let's say that the muscles were kind of tired. It's a huge season for me, given the fact that I had been playing with the National team in the summer. But I feel OK now. My muscles are fine and we are working at improving my situation more».
When asked to comment on the bad perimeter percentages, he pointed out… «Of course we need to get better with the threes, but we need to find more ways to score. We need to drive to the basket, get the fouls and make the free throws, or attack with lay ups. We need to get more creative».
Finally, on how he feels now that the team is not missing that many players: «It's always better to have all your players ready. We are still waiting… Agravanis will probably be missing for a long time, but Kim (Tillie) is coming back soon… We now have our captain back and we need to put all our pieces together to become as good as we can be».
«A different game»
On his part, the Olympiacos center, Giorgos Bogris got to say: "It's a very important game for us tomorrow, against a very particular team, here at home. I think that following this bad result in Baskonia we have a good chance to react and I think that it's time to break this tradition that has been created with Maccabi beating us at the SEF. We want to win a team that plays a different style than ours and impose our rhythm".
The victory in Israel is long gone in the past and Bogris denied dwelling on it… "They are going to be different in regard to the game in the first round, when they hadn't had time to solidify as a team. They have three players that "control" about 65 points per game for their team. If we want to win we need to be strong with our defense, not allow them to run, because that's what they want, to run the fast break. If we are able to be strong in the defense, just like we had been throughout the season up to now, with only one bad parenthesis in the previous game, we are going to be in the right track to win".
Finally, he commented on the returned of the previously injured players of the team: "When we are more and there are more options, then we are happy, because you can get the max out of each one player. We are not used to it due to always missing players, but we have a full roster, with 12 capable players and each one of us can help. The coach has this luxury at hand and we have the quality to offer solutions. We are good and I hope we continue this way and not miss any more players till the end of the season".