"The game ahead is very demanding"
Olympiacos’ delegation left today (17/03) to Berlin, where tomorrow (18/03, 20.30 CET), shall be playing against Alba for the 30th round of the Euroleague.
Asked about how a team like the German one, that likes playing up tempo, can be restrained, the Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, said: “You need to be in control of your offense. Not making hasty attempts at scoring, moving the ball well, be patient and going for the offensive rebounds so as to pace down the game”.
About how the ‘reds’ are going to be approaching the remaining games till the end of the season, he made clear that: “With the same philosophy we approached the two previous games. Each game is completely different. Euroleague is a competition that has no room for second thoughts, that is allowing you to think about what may happen next. Right now, the games are very demanding. The teams fight no matter their ranking. We want to finish the season the strongest possible. The game ahead is very demanding. Alba is a team that has been winning big at home and on the road. They have a very particular style of play and if you don’t face up to it, you can lose with wide margins. They have very good shooters, they have good facilitation from Sikma at ‘4’ and from good point guards and in general, they are a team you need to pay extra attention to and with extra focus, otherwise you’re going to be in trouble”.
Asked whether the remaining games are a kind of test to his players, he said: “I have a general idea obviously, just like everyone does, even those outside the team. I think that each practice, each game, is a chance for a player to prove themselves, because, first of all, they get paid, and then they get to prove if they have personal and team ambitions and also, they play for Olympiacos, that is a club where you can never be indifferent to a game. To be honest, I don’t think there is any one player that doesn’t care. The guys have to deal with a very unique situation. For instance, our foreigners, those without any family with them, get to live cooped up in an apartment, away from their countries. It’s not a normal situation. Of course, there are things much worse than that. At least, we get the chance to travel, to practice, to play games, so we can’t be complaining. However, we need to say that this situation is not easy for anyone”.
«We have to play hard»
The Olympiacos’ forward, Sasha Vezenkov, stressed: “We need to play very hard defense, control the tempo and the rebounds. We shouldn’t get carried away by Alba’s tempo. It’s a style very pleasant for the fans to watch, scoring many points, taking crazy shots… Alba has been working on these things daily at practice, if we allow ourselves to get carried away, we are going to have a problem. That’s why we need to play very hard, restrain our opponent and win this game, that is very important to us”.