Despite entering the fourth quarter with a 7-point lead, Olympiacos paid for their miscue and lost 78-70 to Partizan, seeing their winning streak come to an end after 6 games.
After the match, Nikola Milutinovwho was among the leaders of his group Giorgos Bartzokas with 13 points and 8 rebounds, spoke to sport-fm.gr and its correspondent, Nico Zervaabout what led to the defeat of Olympiakos, what happened in the final, but also the upcoming match with Monaco of Vassilis Spanoulis.
What he said in detail:
For the progress of the match: “We didn’t play well in the fourth quarter, we came into it with a 7-point lead and we had to be smarter. We lost our minds and stopped playing organized, as a team. In that kind of environment you can’t win like that, they got back into the game and put the world in it. We knew even before the game that if we lose our concentration it will be difficult to cope on this pitch. But that’s okay, we’ve had a good run and this defeat shouldn’t knock our confidence, but instead lead us to another good run.”
On whether Olympiacos insisted too much on three points: “I’ll need to see the video and analysis to answer that. But we didn’t play smart neither in defense nor in attack, we had to punish them and not make so many mistakes. When you make 2-3 mistakes, they make some baskets and their fans…go crazy, making the match difficult. It’s a tough defeat, but we have to stay united with our heads held high.”
About what happened in the finale: “I didn’t see exactly what happened. While I was shaking hands with the Partisan players and going to shake hands with the staff members I knew something was up. I really don’t know what happened, maybe you had a better view. They didn’t even ask my teammates in the locker room. We’ll see, I personally don’t know what happened, I just realized something was wrong and stepped in to separate the people involved. How it started and what happened, I have no idea.”
For the match against Monaco of Spanoulis next matchday: “First I want to congratulate him for now being in the Euroleague, he worked hard and deserved it. I wish him the best of luck, just not against us in the next game. I believe he will have a bright future and become as great a coach as he was a player. I know he has a passion for basketball and can’t live without it. He loves what he does and I’ve heard from the players he coaches that he’s as committed to it as he was as a player.”.
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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.
