Sfairopoulos: "Tough game against Efes"
Olympiacos plays host Anadolu Efes (20:00, Novasports 2) in a game for the fifth round of the regular season of Euroleague. Just before they left for Istanbul, Coach Giannis Sfairopoulos and D.J. Strawberry spoke about the game with the Turkish team.
"It's a difficult game for both teams. We're playing against a high quality team that has its targets set on reaching the Final Four. They've lost two consecutive games in Euroleague and they don't want to have more losses. Our mission will be difficult and it demands concentration. The game, however, will be difficult for them and I believe it will be a powerful matchup" said Coach Sfairopoulos at first. He was later asked about the team's defense and the levels he wants it to reach after the games against Limoges and Lavrio. "We're steadily finding automatisms, roles and chemistry. We're becoming better by time. We haven't reached the level desire, but we're at a good place for the time being".
Regarding Othello Hunter's status, the Greek Coach explained that "Hunter participated in parts of the last two days' practices. He will do as well tomorrow morning and we'll decide after that".
On the question about whether Efes is better than Olympiacos at the "4" and if that will be the "key" to the game, the Greek champions' coach answered that "Efes has a good roster and good players in every position. Not only at the "4". If they're better is something you say. I know that they're a team that's stacked in every position."
D.J. STRAWBERRY: "They've changed in comparison to last year; they're a way more athletic team this year. It's definitely a difficult game for us. We will have to stop the fast break and watch out for their guards. We go there to fight. They will be 100% ready; they've lost their last two games in the Euroleague. We will have to keep the rhythm going because they will come out on the court with a lot of energy, especially in the beginning and we mustn't allow for that to happen. I believe that defense will be the catalyst in this bout. Defense is what gives us points on offense, we've worked a lot on that area but we still have things to improve in order to get to the level we desire and we work daily to that direction".