Very happy with his qualification Olympiakou to another Final Four, but more so for the winning spirit this team has and the strong relationship it has built with the world, said George Bartzokas after the victory (84-72) over Fenerbahce.
“Basically, I don’t think many words are needed. Everyone knows the importance of the game and how important it was to both of them. After this tough series we got home advantage back. We came here and through training and talking to the players we said we will get on the same page because the achievement is really huge for the team. And I think it was something we deserved. The way we played in the 9 months from the beginning of September. We were really very consistent and followed the way of the game for a large percentage. And I don’t think anyone disputes that we deserved to be in the Final 4. It’s the second Final 4 since the rebuild that we’ve done and it’s remarkable.
Firstly to congratulate the presidents for creating this incredible environment for us to work in, the management, my partners, the physios, our players right after the owners. It’s not like I want to flatter our presidents, but without them we wouldn’t be at this level. And finally our fans who have created an incredible atmosphere during the season. Apart from qualifying for the Final 4, the best thing we achieved was that we brought them back to SEF or anywhere in Europe, in last year’s Final-4. 85,000 people tried to get a ticket for this game. They should be proud of the winning spirit this team has. We have days to prepare the team mentally and tactically. We are waiting for tomorrow’s play offs to find out our opponent. We will come out to fight for every possession. And of course congratulations to Fener, they were a very competitive opponent“, was his initial statement Giorgos Bartzokas at the press conference.
For Papanikolaou and Slukas: “I’m the first one who doesn’t appreciate only scorers. We have created a team of players who sacrifice themselves. I feel like we all contributed not just today, but all year. All deserve congratulations».
About Goodrich and how Olympiakos will appear in the Final4: “Fener scored eight three-pointers and he scored them all, I don’t know if we limited him. A player who plays to win and deserves congratulations. We managed to significantly limit other players. Forwards Pierre and Hayes were more important and were used for 40 minutes, so it played a role as good athletes as they are. At some point we adjusted to Goodrich but that’s the beauty of basketball, that one player can carry his team by himself.
Initially I don’t know the opponent to commit to Final-4. It will be judged on what we achieve and with the data we had a few years ago, that the team was out of the league. It will be evaluated how Olympiacos with this administrative model reaches the Final-4 with me and without me. Don’t think that Fener has twice the budget of us, but look how many teams with a bigger budget than us were left out of the top eight. We have the know how and the size of the team is growing due to people. What we are committed to is that we remain at the highest level. If we claim things at some point we will succeed. The point is to be at the highest level, to fill the souls of the fans. We are doing it this year and it is the most important achievement. If combined with a win in the final it will be fantastic.
Teams know how to build properly. You can never be sure if you will be in the Final-4. That’s why we watched one match at a time, otherwise it would have seemed like a mountain. We have to build what we call a winning culture, we had 11 away wins, 24 wins in regular time, the first time a Greek team finished first in the most difficult Euroleague. I say this because I know how difficult it was».
On what he told his players after Game 4: “We showed them the video from the last game and how hard Fenerbahçe played. We explained to them that the play-offs are that, basketball comes second. I told them that we will go to the Final-4 not because we have to but because we really want to. It’s more important to play because you want to than because you have to. I don’t know how everyone rated it. Anything important in life is not easily acquired. If we do something important in our life it never comes easily. Whether we will be ready for the semi-final will be seen».
For the Final 4 experience:For me it will be the 4th Final 4 and I was lucky enough to get it with the first one. You know how different the process is and it’s unprecedented. When training opens and 500 journalists come in you have to know how to manage it, do what you’ve been doing all year. This takes experience and is not bought».
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
