Bartzokas: “Our percentages were miserable – The fact that we had pressure is my responsibility”

Olympiacos was defeated 66-54 by Panathinaikos in SEF for the 4th matchday of the Stoiximan Basket League, with the “red and white” knowing their first defeat this year against the “eternal” opponent.

The coach of the “red and whites”, Giorgos Bartzokas, spoke at the press conference about the very bad percentages of his team, but also about the pressure his players had during the match.

At the same time, he also referred to the ups and downs of the team’s performance, citing characteristics: “We have to survive this time until we all come together to a common denominator.”

Giorgos Bartzokas’ statements in detail:



For the match: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos, they played decisively and justly won. We had a poor performance and in key moments he scored eight points at the end of attacks. This gave them confidence. Our percentages were miserable, we had 4/16 shots and obviously we have a lot of responsibility for how we managed the match and how we lost it. It was one of the many games against Panathinaikos, we will learn and be more patient, we will not want to end it from the first half”.

On the failure of Olympiakos: “There were too many missed shots in the first half too, when we were in front of the score. Kanaan, Peters, Williams-Goss lost and when we were stressed in the first part too. We missed a lot of two-pointers, layups. When this happens and you get stressed, the opponent gets confident. We did what we shouldn’t have done for Panathinaikos to gain the momentum and win.”

For Dino Mitoglou: “Mitoglou made two three-pointers, we could have reacted differently there. But he did it. They got shots on layups, took shots after airballs, Guy shot the point blank and went in with a board. All this is put by the team that is confident and plays with less pressure. That we had pressure is my responsibility. We shouldn’t have. We got out of our team game, we had a few final passes, we didn’t read it right. We didn’t control our emotions. A lot of players were in a hurry, they wanted to score to help the team while we had to be more patient.”

For the attack: “The fact that we lost 13 baskets against Armani Milano and tonight it was the same, says a lot. Players like Milutinov should have finished these phases. We have ups and downs in our performance, to have a consistent performance the team has to train for a long time together. We have to survive this time until we all come together to a common denominator.”

For team absences: “These games are always demanding, they always create situations. Tonight we lost, but we have a very difficult game ahead of us against Fenerbahce. Our job is to analyze the game and give players confidence. When we are full, we will have a high ceiling. We have to prove it. We have to give our credentials, prove how we are and what we are. Sikma will start training tomorrow, McKissick has 15 days, maybe more.”