Bartzokas: «With the same focus on Friday»

Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, congratulated his players on their win at the OAKA and asked them to maintain the same focus during the Friday game (17/06) at the SEF so they can be crowned Greek Champions.

“It was a typical playoffs game. Panathinaikos, just like we had expected and had pointed out to our players, would be playing with a lot of energy following what was written and said… They are a talented team, with quality and they played very well in the first half. We were bad in the first half, we did not match up their energy, gave away nine offensive rebounds and did not do any of the basic things you need to be doing to win a basketball game. At the same time, Panathinaikos scored a three with Nedovic from the center of court right at the end of the first quarter, Papapetrou hit a three on the glass that went in, Macon got a three and a free throw in the transition, which means that everything was going well for our opponent. But we made a strong start in the second half. We did a fantastic job in defense, we played with great speed in offense without hesitation, we got many open shots with our good shooters and won the quarter 29-10. It was only natural for the pressure to fall on to Panathinaikos and then we managed the game as we should have. If we hadn’t allowed them 4-5 offensive rebounds, we would have won easier. Congratulations to our players, we played a very serious game in the second half and deserved to win. Now we have to present ourselves with the same focus and humility we have shown throughout the season, and approach the game in the right way so that we win in front of our fans”.