Georgios Bartzokas summed up the initial impressions after the Game 5 of the EuroLeague quarterfinal series against Barcelona.
Georgios Bartzokas aimed to be only the second team to win on the road in the 21st decisive clash for a Final Four spot. He succeeded in that, with a brilliant fourth quarter against the Catalan team.
“Thank you to all the people from Barcelona who congratulated us, even though this loss is painful for them. Great respect for my players, we are a team that never gives up, always fights. The most important thing is trust and empathy, and we have a large number of fans who support us everywhere. I dedicate this to our owners, fans.
Congratulations to Barcelona and good luck in the upcoming games. Before I continue, I want to wish our football team good luck in tomorrow’s Conference League semi-final. Full support,” said Bartzokas.
About poor shooting percentages
“A very nervous game on both sides due to its importance. After four games that were completely different. Against a team that only lost twice here in the regular season, we beat them twice here, with a big margin in the third game, and could have won the third very easily because EuroLeague accepted that a big mistake was made. That’s why all of this is significant. Thomas Walkup and Nigel Williams-Goss played at the end because that’s the lineup we finish the game with – we need ball handlers. We controlled the game in the end and deserved to win.”
He played deciding games both with Lokomotiv in Barcelona, then against Anadolu Efes, and now again.
“Somehow, it seems to be my destiny to play fifth games, which is painful and stressful. Maybe it will shorten my career because the pressure is huge. We become coaches and players to play such games. We know how to influence players so they don’t feel pressure, how to react in both good and bad moments. And that’s something we’ve built, that trust.”
About playing on away courts
“If we go back in the past, no team has ever won the fifth game on the road. Tonight it happened twice. I’m not interested in the heated home atmosphere, it’s all about basketball. We beat Partizan in front of 30,000 fans in the regular season, Panathinaikos, in numerous tough arenas. It’s about the character of the team. If players believe in the philosophy, fans don’t play such a big role. Of course, they are always important; there is a great interest in European basketball, and that’s something we should all be proud of.”
About defending against Jan Vesely
“We decided to have a certain defensive approach against Barcelona because when they play pick and roll, their centers are effective. Not only Jan Vesely but also Willy Hernangomez. We pressured their playmakers to prevent them from creating such situations. We have three great centers – Moustapha Fall, Nikola Milutinov, Moses Wright, and others… Vesely is not 20 anymore, he has a few more games to play in the Liga Endesa. Against Gran Canaria, he played 30 minutes, and we rotated those three to effectively defend him,” Georgios Bartzokas concluded.
Olympiacos will play against Real Madrid in the Final Four, who defeated Baskonia. The other semifinal pair consists of Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce.
WE'VE GOT THE LAST PARTICIPANT FOR THE FINAL FOUR – IT'S OLYMPIACOS! 🔴⚪️#Euroleague #OlympiacosBC pic.twitter.com/QTai5YU62e
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) May 8, 2024