Bartzokas: “We will not choose an opponent – We will see for Kanaan with Panathinaikos”

THE George Bartzokas after giving thumbs up for securing the home advantage from the Olympiakos after the victory over Villerban (81-55)categorically ruled out the possibility of his team choosing an opponent for the playoffs.

“We secured the home advantage. It’s a remarkable achievement, especially with three games left in the regular season. Big credit to our players, staff, management, fans, everyone! We all made it together. We still have three matches and we won’t change our approach to them. We will now focus on the match against Panathinaikos and fight for the best possible position, even first. Good luck to Villeurbanne in the French league“, he emphasized.

“It’s a credit to the team that everyone took home advantage for granted, but I don’t take anything for granted. We are united and it is important that we stay healthy going into the important games of the season. It is important, however, that in the most difficult Euroleague we have a home advantage. I feel satisfied, but I feel that we are still at the beginning. The playoffs are a war, nothing is easy, no matter who we play. We want to stay at a high level of performance to be ready for the playoffs“, he added.

As for how difficult it was to motivate the players in this theoretically easy game, he said: “For Friday’s game we don’t need to say much to the players, other than tactically. Today we had to keep the players alert, because the opponent also came with problems. Without catching a high performance, we handed out 20 assists, led them to 15 turnovers and split the time. Always those matches where you have to convince the players are the most difficult for the coach».

Asked if Olympiacos will enter the process of looking at the standings to choose an opponent, he answered: “100% no, we don’t want to pick an opponent. Whenever you choose an opponent, you pay for it, as experience has shown. After all, whoever the opponent is, it will be difficult».

Finally, regarding whether Kanaan will be available for Panathinaikos, he said:An attempt is being made to come tomorrow. If he comes and trains we will see. It is important for him that he was by his wife’s side and we are glad that his baby was born healthy».