Christos Pappas: «We must be mentally ready»

Olympiacos will be facing Partizan in Belgrade tomorrow (24/03, 20.00 CET) without Giorgos Bartzokas who is still down with a virus.

Just like in the game against Lavrio, his immediate associate Christos Pappas will be the acting head-coach.

“Partizan has a motive, they are in good shape, they have a tough home court, they play very physical, they are talented enough and they obviously have an excellent coach”, was what Christos Pappas initially commented and went on as follows: “The game with Partizan is not going to be easy. Any one opponent of such a team should impose the rhythm on both ends of the floor. That means we have to play our game and be mentally ready to deal with their physical game”. 

On his part, Alec Peters pointed out: “The fact that we’re going to such a tough court is the fun part of our job. When you are at this point in the season, you have to remain focused and ready for whatever it is that follows. However, we have prepared and we are all ready for tomorrow’s game. We are ready for all the challenges ahead and we know that it is very important to stay in the best possible shape, not only for tomorrow’s game but also for those who come next”.

He also commented on the absence of coach Bartzokas: “It’s definitely unusual for us, but we are prepared. Coach Pappas coached the game against Lavrio also. At the end of the day, our team has been preparing the same way, regardless of the circumstances. At this point, we are a machine that works properly. I wish him well, I hope he gets better soon and returns”.