Bartzokas: “We are in a period where we need confidence and some important victories”

Olympiacos managed to put behind them consecutive defeats to Paris and Red Star, defeating Virtus Bologna 87-77 in the SEF for the 16th matchday of the Euroleague and to get back within one win distance of the top of the standings.

During the Press Conference after the end of the match, Mr George Bartzokas he stressed that his side are in a period where they need confidence and important wins like tonight, while also talking about the preparations ahead of Alba and Thomas Walkup.

In detail what the coach of Olympiakos said:



“We came back after two defeats against Paris and Red Star. It was a game we had to win against a difficult team because they have a lot of experience and are currently in a better momentum and they don’t play with the same pressure as us. They played very well in the 2nd period, we were very bad. We were down 15 points in the quarter and got back to our basics, played better defense. We didn’t rush to score, try to execute with patience and for that we had a good number of assists. That’s why we finally won which was very important.

We are in a period where we need confidence and some important wins, we have players coming back from injury like Fal. Milutinov is quite tired because he plays several minutes. From this point of view it is always important to win. Good luck to Virtus, we want to finish the first round in the best possible position”.

Regarding how difficult the games are with teams in a lower ranking position that Olympiacos has the character of a favorite: “They are the worst games for managers as I see them, because everyone expects you to win easily. You can be 8-10 points up and everyone wants you to win 30. Everyone loses everywhere, a team like Fener to lose two games with 30 points. An injury can change a team’s form and because the schedule has, for example, three games in one week, you can go from third to 11th. It will be a marathon more competitive than ever. We will try to become more compact, to play better. The players coming from behind have to get in better condition and we will help them. The rebounds of Vezenkov, Peters, as well as the assists of Fournier, Walkup, are important. It’s something to appreciate, to win the matches. We do it”.

On the ups and downs in his team’s performance: “It’s not something that happens consistently but today. Ideally I would like to play at a steady pace for 40 minutes with whatever changes. We believe deep down, they are good players who entered. It is a problem that everyone said we have the best frontline with Fal, Petrusev, Wright, Milutinov, suddenly we are left with one for various reasons. And we got into unacceptable situations, the worst thing that everyone knows is that when someone stays out for 15 days, when he comes back he is not in the same situation as the others. The schedule is heavy, we play on Friday, Sunday at noon, Christmas, New Year. Things are a little rough here”.

To prepare for Alba: “When you have a week of preparation we analyze with videos, but when we play in two days we necessarily have to go there. We can do some individual videos like we do on some players to help the team keep their pace and get more time so others don’t get enough weight.”.

About Walkup: “Thomas’ offer will be analyzed by the historians of the future. You saw today that whoever marked him was taken out of the match, he is not interested in his individual characteristics and this has come with how much he offers. There are players who excite the stands and those who excite the coaches. Let me try not to single him out, which I always do. I have a lot of confidence in him, whether we play Panionios or Colossus he comes in to fill his role, while some players skip games. I think his game attitude and how important he is to his teammates is remarkable.”.