Bartzokas: “Our performance in the 3rd period was dominant – That’s what I told the players at halftime”

Olympiacos crushed Monaco 76-62 and advanced to the Final 4!

THE George Bartzokas spoke at the customary post-match press conference, deifying him Thomas Walkup and the Kostas Papanikolaou.

What the Olympiacos coach said in detail at the press conference:

“I don’t have much to say about this match. It’s obvious what happened. We lost 9b. in the first half, we missed 3-4 layups and open shots. Sometimes we were in a hurry and didn’t read the situations as we should have. Monaco attacked our racket, we made the same mistake many times. At the break we talked in the dressing room, we made some changes, we said we need to calm down.

I told the players that we have to close the score in the 3rd quarter to have any hope in the 4th quarter. However, our performance was dominant, with a score of 27-2. We didn’t allow anything easy in Monaco. We got the rebounds, moved the ball and found the free man. As soon as we scored 2-3 shots we put the pressure on Monaco. We did what we had to do to win such a difficult match and qualified for the final. The support of the people was fantastic and I want to thank them. We want to make them happy in the final. Also, congratulations to Monaco, it was hard to beat.”

For what Olympiacos changed defensively in the replay: “Basically, nothing. For us, the presence of Thomas Walkup is important. Puts pressure on opposing operators. He did 2f. and he came off in the first half, we protected him. He was “fresh” and ready in the 3rd period. Also, Fal protected the wreath. Papanikolaou, Kanaan and Vezenkov did what they had to do to dominate defensively. In attack we have a good team, you know that. We wanted to prevent opposing operators from stepping on the paint. They find good options from there. That was the basic directive.”

On whether this 3rd season was the best in his career with the “red and whites”: “I’ll have to think. Considering the importance of this game, this 3rd quarter was one of the best, because it was efficient on both sides of the floor. I also remember the final against Real Madrid in 2013. It’s hard to make comparisons, basketball changes every day. Basketball is different today compared to 10 years ago.”



On the fact that Olympiacos found a rhythm in the attack when they played a good defense: “That’s right, 100%. I always believe that what you do on one part of the floor affects the other. If you’re not good at defending, you can’t find rhythm in attack. You gain confidence in every possession. In these matches you have to be more than consistent on both sides. In the second half we were very good both in defense and attack.”

On Tomas Walkup and how he is the player every manager wants in their team: “He is the ideal player for any coach, 100%. He does what the team needs and what his coach asks him to do.”

On the fact that Saša Obradovic deified Walkup, saying that he was dominant, despite the fact that the match ended with 0 points: “I completely agree, it was one of the reasons we filmed the match. He was excellent in defense. He also always finds the right player in attack. He is the ideal point guard, when he sees that one of his teammates does not have rhythm, he puts him in the match.”

For the leader Kostas Papanikolaou: “Every person is different. Another is more vocal, another sets an example with the way he fights. In general, Kostas grew up next to Spanoulis for years. He is now 33 years old. In my opinion he is having the best season of his career. Whenever he plays well, we win. He’s a leader, he helps anyone who doesn’t feel well.”