«We must win»
Giorgos Bartzokas and Antonis Koniaris talked about Olympiacos' game against Baskonia (Thursday, 30/01, 20.00 CET) and practically agreed that it's a "must win" game for the 'reds'.
"I hope we come out different compared to the game against Zenit. I believe that the team is going to give more than 100%, we must win. We know that the games that follow are hard, but if we focus at one game at a time, this is a game we must win, 100%. It is certain that the pressure on the guards is going to play an important role, that's where we are also targeting on, mainly due to their absent players, we know who their players are and what we need to do", was what Antonis Koniaris said at first, who was then asked to comment on the great performance by Vassilis Spanoulis at St. Peterburg and if the Olympiacos' captain is the example everyone needs to follow. "Of course, Vassilis is the captain and the leader of this team, we've said it again and again. We all need to try more and remain focused on the plan our coach has given us".
In terms of the philosophy Giorgos Bartzokas is trying to instill in the team, the Greek guard replied that "the coach has a very specific plan, we all need to follow it, who ever can follow it will be playing, we'll be good and the team will be winning, which is above all else. The coach's philosophy will not be analyzed by me, you will be able to witness it during the games, but it sure is quite different to that of our previous coaches".
As for the new player of the team, Octavius Ellis, Koniaris explained that "we have all seen him, we know who he is, he's already helping a lot and I believe he's going to be helping in the game as well. I believe we were in need of a big player like Ellis and I'm very happy he's here with us".
Giorgos Bartzokas stressed that what he wants is "to be better than against Zenit. We want to see something better. First of all, you don't get to shape the circumstances of the game alone; the opponent has a role in that as well. Baskonia is in a situation, ranking and competition wise, that is very similar to our won. There's no doubt they are a quality team. Having beaten Real in Madrid shows that they have quality but they are also trying to find the right chemistry and show that on the court. They've been having a lot of ups and downs with their performance, but they have added a point guard recently and you have to play well to beat them».
In regard to Ellis playing against Baskonia, the Greek coach explained that "when you add a player, it's a bit of a gamble to foresee what will happen. He may face up to it and bring enthusiasm, and he also may seem lost. How he plays depends a lot on the player's character, on the coaching program as well as on how the coach handles him. The point position is of the utmost importance, but it takes time to adjust. At the same time, we also have a new player and it's going to be interesting how these two players are going to be incorporated".
About the criteria used to choose Ellis, the Greek coach said that his presence in Greece and his knowledge of the Greek reality and of what Olympiacos is about played their role. "Without a doubt they did. The decision we made to sign him had that parameter as well, he was playing in Greece, he knows the size of Olympiacos and he's in rhythm. I would also like to take the chance and thank Prometheas and also apologize to them for taking him and creating a problem for them to solve. I'm happy they won yesterday, but that's what professional sports are. They had worked with him and he has improved; now he needs to improve more and get to the next level because I think that Eurocup and the Euroleague are very different in terms of intensity".
On whether he was troubled by how the American players of his team played in St. Petersburg (having not scored at all), the Greek coach replied that "first of all, the fact that they didn't get to score at all was not that important to me. Of course it's something we need to evaluate. The worst thing was that they did not participate in certain aspects of the game that we had emphasized when preparing it. It's not that they didn't score, you may not get to score, but you can do a million other things. And unfortunately, this game cost us. However, do you remember having said that Olympiacos cannot make good on the season with 3, 4 or 5 players, but we need to have more players on a good day because that's how basketball is, not because Olympiacos is that way? Do you remember that against Bayern, when many more players played well, we got to win by 20?"
Giorgos Bartzokas was asked about the possibility of further re-enforcement of the roster and if Olympiacos is investigating the market. "Look, because we are very few arithmetically, we are in the market looking for a guard as well, but if we find a case like that of Ellis, we are going to make a move, if not, we are not changing someone just for the sake of the change itself. The team has made too many changes in players and coaches and each time a new player gets in, the chemistry of the team gets disrupted and that's not good. I'm not for changes, no coach is for changes I believe".