Bartzokas: “Everything to go to the Final 4 – Papanikolaou is doubtful”

The belief that the Olympic will present himself properly to claim and qualify for the Final 4, Giorgos Bartzokas expressed at the media day ahead of tomorrow’s (21:30) “final” of the playoffs against Fenerbahce. At the same time, the coach of Piraeus emphasized that Kostas Papanikolaou he is doubtful due to tonsillitis which afflicts him.

What the Olympiacos coach said in detail:

For Papanicolaou: “He will try to get some training out. He has tonsillitis, he is taking antibiotics, but it is doubtful whether he will play tomorrow.”

For the fifth game: “We look at the previous game, make some small changes, analyze where we can be better, where we did well, as all teams do at this level.”

For what Olympiacos needs improvement: “Because there is great skepticism to mention that within the Euroleague there are three different competitions. The regular season, the playoffs and the Final-4. If people believe that Olympiacos will score a 30 point difference in games and that they will put up 100 points in playoff games, I assure you that it will not happen and it cannot happen. Our opponent is a very good team. It’s not because the game has become too hard. In the last match, it was not harder than normal and because the players have more pressure than they have all year. So that’s how things are. The playoffs are a special series either in the NBA, or in the Euroleague, or in the Eurocup, or in the BCL. In essence, what we have achieved is to have the home advantage, which is not visible in the first four games. The advantage is in the fifth. It’s what you’ve been fighting for all year. We have our chance, in our stadium with our world, to do what we think we deserve. The atmosphere will be difficult for our opponents, as it was for us there. What we wanted, that is to play the last game here, like last year with Monaco, we have achieved. Secondly, the fact that Olympiacos is fighting for the second season in a row to go to the Final-4 is a blessing that is very important. Our players have done it. It is a process that makes us better. If we succeed and go to the Final-4 it will be even more important. Third, that our team has accomplished very important things. Of course we will be judged if we don’t go to the Final-4, but anyway it is a basketball game. One possession, one shot. Fener is a very good team, which was not for 8th in the regular season. He found himself there by chance. He has a lot of experience. You can also see what is happening in the other series. The tension is too high. All we have to do is enjoy the game. The fact that the entire sports community is involved in this series is great. We had 85,000 requests to see the game. This group sparked that interest. There are many positive things. We went to Turkey to take back the advantage and we did it. We had a lot of key players underperform. I think we have to go with the mindset of doing our best to win.”

On whether there are training tricks: “No. Even if there is a play or a move, we and others have a lot of experience and read it.”

For the great interest of the world: “Two years ago when I came, little by little the team built a great relationship with the people. Going to the Final-4 will be a great achievement. From my perspective, how this team has played and what they have accomplished this year is a coaching project. For the players it is a great effort and I repeat that the fact that we will play this match in our stadium is what we wanted”.

On psychological preparation and the word “skepticism” he mentioned: “First of all we have to see that they don’t often have teams playing for Final-4. Few European teams manage to do that. Olympiacos is in it. Two years ago it wasn’t like that. I remember many journalists saying that the way the situation is in Greece, we will forget the Final-4. We are going to do it for the second year in a row. We finished second last year in the regular season and this year first. That means something. I don’t say this to bless our beards. These series are soul-destroying. Everyone would like to participate.”

As to whether they are in danger of being erased if they have succeeded in a possible disqualification: “There will be criticism as it happens everywhere in sports. There are people who criticize Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. There’s no way you won’t be criticized. The question is how much it affects you. I wanted to impose a way of playing that I believed would lead us to the top and now I have been vindicated. We have reached high. We have our chance to go to another Final-4. We will do everything for it. But the opponent also plays, who is very strong and experienced. They use different tricks like saying they are not the favorite. You all know he has a lot of experience and talent. It has great depth. We also know the communication tricks used and we know the reality. We will play with power, with intensity and we will enjoy it. I’m very optimistic.”