Olympiacos won in Lyon and took another step toward securing home-court advantage.
“It’s a win we truly appreciate,” said Olympiacos head coach Giorgos Bartzokas. “We didn’t expect it to be easy, mainly because we watched ASVEL in their recent games before facing us. They were close games decided in the final minute. They never give up. They play for their pride, they play their game, and in today’s matchup, we were the ones under pressure, not them. It helped that we had 7 more possessions from rebounds, and in the end, we managed to win this game, which is very important for us with three games remaining in the regular season. Congratulations to the coach and Villeurbanne. I wish them good luck.”
When asked whether finishing first in the regular season is the goal, he replied: “We will take whatever the games give us. We will fight as hard as we can in the remaining matchups, and if we eventually finish first in the regular season, it will be something we truly deserve. But our main goal is to secure home-court advantage. I believe that from 1 to 4 and from 5 to 8 there are very strong teams. You can’t choose your opponent. We will fight hard until the end of the season and then see which team we face in the playoffs. I hope we will have the home-court advantage. If we do, it will be difficult for our opponent to beat us in Piraeus, where we will have our fans by our side, creating a fantastic atmosphere. However, we do have some issues right now, as we are mentally and physically tired, like all EuroLeague teams. It’s April and we’ve played more than 60–65 games. In the EuroLeague, there are no easy games. Everything has been very demanding from the start until now. All teams are exhausted, but now the most important part of the season begins. I hope we stay healthy, and with a bit of luck, we will finish as we deserve.”
