Vezenkov: «We only focus on us»

Sasha Vezenkov underlined the need for caution in view of the game against Villeurbanne (25/03, 20.00 CET), stressing that they are a team with a lot of elements similar to that of Monaco.

“It was a very bad game”, the Olympiacos’ forward said in regard to game in the Principality. “Defensively, we were simply absent throughout the game with the exception of the first quarter and we got ‘stuck’ with our offense. Especially in the second quarter, we made bad choices and allowed them easy scoring. The general outlook was that we did not play hard, we did not control the tempo and allowed Monaco to feel really comfortable. Monaco has proven that especially in that gym they have been playing very well and have won against many good teams”.  

About the game in Lyon, he stressed: “Having to play a game immediately after the last one is a good thing for us. We need to learn from our mistakes, we have to find what we did wrong. The general theme of that all, just like I said before, is that we did not play hard, we did not come in contact with anyone. For all those reasons, we need to be really focused, since the next game is very important and Villeurbanne is a team that has similar qualities to that of Monaco, in regard to athleticism. We need to make sure we control the tempo and we are going to play our game”.

Finally, asked if the scenarios in regard to how Olympiacos will be finally seeded have had an impact on the collective thinking of the ‘reds’, he said: “We don’t care about the scenarios at all. Whoever says that they don’t want the home court advantage, they are not talking realistically. However, at the point we are now, the most important thing is the next game. We need to be the ones winning and not get preoccupied with what other teams are doing. The most important thing is us and we have shown this season that when we are well and only focus on us and on how we play, we play our best games. So, we should stay focused on our next game and that only”.