“It’s not going to be easy”
Giorgos Bartzokas and Giorgos Printezis spoke about the game against Cedevita just before departing for Croatia and they both agreed that they have a very tough mission ahead of them.
Giorgos Bartzokas said that “we had a very difficult time in the first game, but we finally made the upset and won. Cedevita is a team with a good roster, they have changed coach, but they haven’t changed a lot in tactics. Marko Tomas, who hadn’t played in the first game, will be playing this one, and this is going to be a very important difference. We have watched them against KPKA and in their previous Euroleague game and we have a very clear picture about the shape they are in”.
As for whether Olympiacos would definitely seek the first place in the group, the Greek coach said that “we really don’t aim for first place; we are not interesting in the first place. Either first, or second, or third, we are going to enter a new eight team league for the TOP-16. If you see how teams cross with one another, there are only slight deviations. We are not going to choose who we play, we only want to stay healthy and we’ll against which teams we are going to play. Making the first place is of course very good for our image”.
In regard to the Croatian team, the European and Greek Champions coach said that “they are an experienced team with a lot of talent, while another parameter is that should they be eliminated from the TOP-16, then for sure, a lot of their players, like Gelabal and Andric are going to be targeted by other teams. So, they are certain to be extra motivated since they are going to fight to secure bigger contracts. Therefore, I think we are not going to have an easy evening”.
On his side, Giorgos Printezis stressed that “no game, especially when on the road, is going to be easy, on the contrary I would say that each game is dangerous. Cedevita is still within the qualification game, they are going to give all they’ve got to win and keep their chances alive. It’s not going to be an indifferent game to us by any means, because we have a goal ahead of us, which is winning the first place of the group. Cedevita had dangerous players. Comparing to the first game, I’d say that we have changed a … microchip. We have changed a lot in the last games and we’ve been playing exactly the way we want to, so it’s feasible that win the first place”.
As for whether Olympiacos is absolutely trying to win first place, the 27year old forward was pretty clear: “Zalgiris has a much tougher schedule than we have. It’s not a disaster if we are second. Only a few weeks ago we were struggling to qualify; now we are aiming for the top spot. The way the TOP-16 is structured it makes no big difference if we are first, second or third. The important thing is to keep playing the way we’ve been playing lately, keep the same rhythm during the TOP-16”.