Bartzokas: “We were serious”

Olympiacos got another comfortable win and our team’s coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, could not be anything but satisfied with the performance of his players.

“I would like to applaud the very warm atmosphere in the arena today. It was almost full. I had not seen such a thing in years and independent of the pressure it puts on the opponent, Greek Basketball needs something like that. We were serious, considering the circumstances, for over thirty minutes. We controlled the game and the lead eclipsed thirty points. In the end, we stopped playing, but I think it was justified. We have some issues due to the harsh schedule, we have demanding games on Tuesday and Thursday. During today’s game, we faced issues again with Walkup and McKissick not being able to continue. So all things considered, I’m very happy we won. It is never easy to play here and PAOK is playing better than in previous years. That is why I really appreciate this win. Good luck to PAOK for the remainder of the season”.

In response to a question regarding the recent performance of Isaiah Canaan, as well as the condition of the injured players, he commented: “They’re players of a certain quality. The point is that they stay on the court and do some things that are imperative to the team. There is no doubt, at least within the team’s ranks, that we all have faith in the players and that they all have faith in each other. If they play enough, they’ll definitely put up numbers. Walkup felt some tightness before the game and it was questionable if he’d play. He ended up playing in the first quarter but his lower back tightened more. I don’t think it was anything serious ahead of Tuesday’s game, however, he had to stay out due to an abundance of caution. McKissick felt tightness in the abductors, staying out  for the same reason”.