The character shown by his team to reach the very difficult home victory over Monaco for the 19th matchday of the EuroLeague, he spoke in his statements at the press conference after the end of the match George Bartzokas!
In detail what the coach of Olympiakos said:
“First of all, I am grateful for the support of the people, a big part of this victory belongs to our fans. I don’t need to say much about numbers and statistics because it was basically a typical play-offs game, with a lot of ups and downs in emotions for both teams. We felt during the game that everything was against us, they hit difficult shots, they got offensive rebounds… We managed to win, that means we showed character, personality, I don’t want to use another word…
We played against a team that is not only in shape but has had the same coach for the last few years, has a full roster, has leaders, tall, shooters, is a complete team and I think is a strong Final Four contender. Once again I want to say that we are trying to “buy” time. We ended the week with two important victories, as the Euroleague slogan says, every game counts. So we achieved two victories that count a lot”.
On McKissick’s performance: “You know the importance of this player in recent years in our team. He’s been on the team almost as long as I’ve been. His biggest asset is that his athleticism is at the top level of the EuroLeague, he was down with the injury but has returned to normal levels. Obviously the last 3-pointer is important as well as Peters’ pass, he created a shot that didn’t have a lot of pressure, it’s a shot that you put in because you don’t have to think too much.”.
On whether this is one of the most important wins of the year and the character of the team: “It doesn’t matter at all who controls the game, we controlled it with Virtus for 39:30 minutes and for two decisions in the end we lost the match. Today we were in a close match, we had to get ahead and we didn’t succeed. Winning counts a lot. We played 2-3 good defenses to turn the match around. Basketball is a game of details and the hardest games are the ones you absolutely must win. Every win counts, maths is starting to enter the equation, we have 15 more matches, blood and sand for everyone”.
“Either we adapt to the data and requirements or we pray that no one gets hurt. In terms of comparing to last year’s team, because we have a deeper roster, we have more potential because we have more players. To see if we have a better team than last year, we have to do more or the same, which is extremely difficult. We made some decisions and loaded up with talent. We have players like Fal, Milutinov and Petrusev, we have shooters, we have athletic players and more guards than last year. It will show if we have a better team based on what we do in the end. As for the term “leader”, in my eyes, it means that he is the one who sacrifices for the team, who sets the example. The egocentric player is not a leader, he can be a player, put up 30 points. Without any blame for anyone. I believe this. We won two matches now but I remind you that we lost at Virtus. With Baskonia with buzzer-biter. Was McIntyre ever a leader in his career? No, but he made two shots and gave two wins. Or was Moneke a leader? We believe that in a set everyone can be indispensable”.
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.
