Bartzokas: «We did not underestimate Aris»

Giorgos Bartzokas attributed the comfortable qualification to the semis over Aris to his players high level of concentration.

“Congratulations to our players for the win. It was a game we did not underestimate at all, neither when preparing, nor during playing it. Aris inspired us to do that. They are a team that shares the third ranking place of the Greek League with others. They have a special style of defending. They all go for the ball, they play with great physicality, they constantly switch and you have to remain focused on your game plan. You have to be doing different things from what you usually do playing for the Euroleague, or for the Greek League, to beat them. Our approach wasn’t one for three games in a row. We approached the game against Aris as a one game competition, that’s what they were thinking and we did exactly the same. Our players were completely engages into realizing the importance of such a game, resulting in winning with a big difference after playing a good defensive game. Also, we had targeting certain aspects of the game, like rebounding and not allowing fast breaks and we succeeded in both. We got the rebounds, we passed the ball and received 51 points which made it very difficult for us to lose the game”.   

On his part, Thomas Walkup pointed out: “We are happy for the win. Nothing less and nothing more than that. Now all eyes are focused on the semi-final. Aris made us work to win, but we did a very good job as a team and we solved any problems they were creating for us. We got the win and we move ahead”.