By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Game 2 between Olympiacos and Real Madrid ended up being a slugfest, but the Greeks got the win and now need one more to qualify for the Final Four.
Coach Giorgos Bartzokas asked about the pressure that his team was visibly under on the court and explained the situation that Olympiacos has to handle the whole season.
As he said, “Our team has more pressure to win this moment than any other in Europe, I think you all understand that. There are many reasons for that; you have analyzed them in the media, and I also did the same. Olympiacos finished on top of the standings in the regular season. We have been to three Final Fours, we want to get there again, so this excitement and also the pressure have become part of our DNA. That’s why you see players not being decisive or missing free throws. I think that after handling all this in the first two must-win games, we will be better in the rest of the series”.
Bartzokas was asked about the big shots of Alec Peters and Nigel Williams-Goss at the end of the game, and his answers included the big game of center Nikola Milutinov: “Peters made a very difficult shot, Goss also, but Peters was on the bench for 15 minutes. Madrid played zone, so we had to get three shooters on the court. I have to do something that I don’t usually do, I have to say how Nikola Milutinov played today. It was an amazing performance, defensively and offensively, grabbing rebounds and playing for the team”.
A similar question was made about Evan Fournier, with Bartzokas explaining why his star sometimes puts himself in difficult spots: “It’s obvious what Evan means for our team. His leadership… today he exaggerated on some things, he took some difficult shots, and he put himself in a difficult situation, because I think that he could be a bit more patient at the beginning, but he has the feeling of the game, he has the attitude of a big player and of course the ambitions to go with Olympiacos to the Final Four. It’s amazing to have him as a player”.
For the game, Bartzokas added: “For three quarters, our defense was amazing, we put Real Madrid in very difficult shooting angles and out of their usual positions. We contested every shot, which was very important, and that’s why we got the win”.