Bartzokas: «We lost our concentration»

Olympiacos’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, assessed that the loss to Red Star in Belgrade was due to the fact that his players lost their concentration in crucial parts of the game.

“A Euroleague game is always hard and each possession is important. We lost our concentration in some crucial parts of the game, we got frustrated by some calls and were thrown off our game plan, defensively and offensively. Red Star played an excellent game and I want to congratulate them on the win. We need to analyze this game and see what went wrong, especially with our defense, so as to get better”.

Asked what was the reason for his players to lose their concentration, he replied: “They are human…” When asked if the atmosphere the Red Star fans created was also a contributing factor, he said: “The atmosphere is always important. The atmosphere is definitely exciting here, however, it’s not hostile to our team. It’s supportive for Red Star, but, regardless of that, if we believe we are a strong team, we shall have to remain focused on our game no matter how much the home team fans help their team”.

Finally, when told that Olympiacos’ schedule from now on is easier, he made clear: “You can’t see things like that… Whenever you take a look at the schedule and think of it as easy, you immediately pay a price. That’s Euroleague. You simply need to focus on the upcoming game. For example, we had three back to back road games, but we won in Milan and in Kazan. We also had a road game for the Greek League. So, yes, the schedule had been difficult for us, but this is not an excuse. We must be focusing on each one game and be ready to play. It’s very early in the season to be tired, either physically or mentally”.