Barztokas: «We shall be ready»
The ‘reds’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas expressed his belief that Olympiacos will be the one to get the ticket to the Euroleague Final Four, if the team plays a good game tomorrow (04/05, 20.30 CET) for the 5th playoffs game against Monaco.
“Making a mini assessment of what has happened until now, we are very content with our course this season. The fact that our team has succeeded playing three playoff games here and have this kind of support from the fans, in this kind of atmosphere, is credited to our players. It’s very important for all of us. If someone told us at the beginning of the season that we would be playing a fifth game in our home court to make the Final Four, we would all have been happy about this prospect and that’s how we need to approach this. It’s a very difficult game, but we are playing at home, we have potential and we believe that if we play well, we are going to win”.
On whether the mass presence of the fans adds extra pressure on him and his players or is an advantage to them, he replied: “Home court plays a role, however, we lost a game here and they lost a game in theirs. What I want to say is that home court plays a role if you play well. But it comes down to how the team plays. Following four playoff games and two in the regular season, both team have analyzed what we do well and what it is we don’t. Of course the approach, the win, the passion in these games play a huge role. Conjuncture plays a role. I believe though we shall be ready. I can’t say that the fans are going to add pressure on us. The fans have been very supportive. For me, the most important moment this season is when we lost here by 20 points and our fans cheered the team on. That’s what I think is even more important than celebrating big wins, even from the fans interest right now to help the team and have the game sell out in only a few hours”.