Bartzokas and Fall for the game against Real Madrid
The coach of Olympiacos, Giorgos Bartzokas, expressed his faith that his team can get another big win in Spain, a little before the delegation left for Madrid, where tomorrow (19/10) will be playing against Real.
“Real has a full roster and dynamics. We are going to approach the game just like any other Euroleague game, with any novel tactics we can employ. Of course we have a plan for the game against Real. We believe we can be competitive and why not, win”.
About the changes the Madrid team has made compared to last season, he commented: “I feel they are slightly different. Right now they are going more on the iso and they are missing a few things in regard to their guards. Right now they have many players that have mismatch mainly with the guards, in terms of their size. I’m talking about Musa and Hezonja. They are generally short staffed in regard to ball handlers. They play mainly with tall line ups that help them to switch on the screens. They are also very different in defense compared to last season. We have a plan. We are talking about a team that has dynamics and they are a big team. They also have a home court that is difficult to beat”.
«We must play hard»
The ‘red & whites’ center, Moustapha Fall, stressed talking about the game: “It’s going to be a big game, just like any other Euroleague game. Of course Real is a big team, we play at their home and it’s going to be difficult. However, we have to play our game, play hard, play good defense, avoid playing selfishly and we’ll see what happens”.
About the duel with Tavares, he said: “He’s a big player. One of the best in the Euroleague. He’s tall, very smart, he understands basketball and it’s definitely going to be a difficult matchup. I’m going to deal with it however like with any other game. I don’t need any extra motivation. Each game is a big game, the Euroleague is very difficult and I’m going to be focused as always”.
Asked about the road game against Baskonia that follows the one against Real, he replied: “We are looking at one game at a time. We are not thinking about Baskonia, or any other team. We are going to think about them after the game against Real”.
* Kostas Papanikolaou did not travel with the team.