Bartzokas: “If we play well we will have a good chance at winning”

Olympiacos will play host to Euroleague standings’ leader, Fenerbahce, tomorrow (13/12, 20.00), targeting their 9th European win.

Absent from today’s (12/12) training were injured players Thomas Walku, Tariq Black and Shaquielle McKissick, whose participation in the game against the Turkish club is questionable.

“That Fener is first says something”, highlighted the coach of the “red and whites”. Giorgos Bartzokas. “Obviously in this moment, they're the team with the most wins and this is due to the good game schedule they had in the beginning, as well as the road games where they played well. It’s a game we have to approach with respect relative to that, but also with respect to how important it is to us. There are some special circumstances. The fact that not only we but Fener as well, have played on Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday… That’s a lot of games and as you can tell all players find it difficult to follow that process. We have many minor injuries within the team right now, which I don’t think will keep anyone out. We are concerned by the fact that some players will not practice today, but they will undergo treatment. So what’s left is to test our strengths against the Euroleague leaders. We believe that if we play well, we will have a good chance at winning”.

Continuing his remarks regarding Fenerbahce: “Obviously, in order to be first, the team has good coaching, talent and experience, great depth; it’s a team you have to play well against to win. The fact that Fener is first is immediately telling of the the difficulty and importance of the game. I don’t need to say anything else about that. Every game is worth two points, and though that’s a cliche, that is how it is. The more wins you get in the first round, as the math gets even tougher later on, the better… Getting to the top 8 is our first goal and I think that’s the goal of all teams, to be in the top 8 of the 18 total teams in the league, all of which are good”.