Bartzokas and Ndiaye comments following the IBT Crete final
Olympiacos won the IBT Crete after defeating Crvena Zvezda 87-77 in Crete, with head coach Giogios Bartzokas and final MVP Mbaye N’diaye speaking to the media after the game.
Speaking about this year’s IBT Crete, Giorgios Bartzokas said: “First of all, I have to say that the tournament was fantastic. We saw that the previous game was decided by the final decision. Four very good EuroLeague teams took part this year. The level of the EuroLeague is genuinely getting tougher each year. There is more athleticism, more physicality, better decision-making and better players. Every mistake you make, the opponent punishes you. We are very happy that we participated in this tournament and, of course, that we won it. Obviously, the team’s level of readiness is still very low because we haven’t even had a proper defensive practice yet. But we have quality as a team and when we play well, like we did today, we can build leads of more than 20 points. We simply lost that lead because of a lack of cohesion and perhaps a little lack of seriousness toward the end.”
Regarding the two tests Olympiacos faced in Crete, Bartzokas said: “They were the best possible tests for us at this point, without a doubt. Next week we will play another very strong tournament in Cyprus. We want to play as many difficult games as possible before we play our first official games.”
Asked about Olympiacos’ new signings, the head coach said: “I am very happy. There were 5 players, Karagiannidis and Plotas, along with the 3 foreign players. I think these players have proven that they have the level required. That is important because you often sign players from the United States who may be very talented, but you don’t know whether they have the level required here. That is always a question mark. These players have the level, and that is very important for us.”
Asked to comment on the situation surrounding Thomas Walkup, Bartzokas said: “All of us here are not here to comment on who is not here and so on. So, I will not take a position. I will only say that I am here for the players who are part of our team, and I am extremely happy with them.”
Regarding the injury suffered by football player Ayoub El Kaabi, Bartzokas said: “As soon as I saw it, I didn’t want to watch the game anymore. I was very upset for the player. He is an exceptional player, but I was also upset for the team because his absence is a major blow. Unfortunately, that is life. It has its ups and downs. During the difficult moments, we must be strong, and everyone must show how strong they are when things are not going well.”
Meanwhile, Mbaye Ndiaye, who was named the game’s MVP, spoke about the intensity of the two games: “It was a tournament with 4 very good teams and we played two great games. It was a very good preseason game today and ideal for our preparation. Two very strong tests.”
Asked how he feels about sharing the power forward position with Sasha Vezenkov, Ndiaye said: “I am here to play my basketball and bring energy on both defence and offense. Of course, Sasha is an incredible player and a EuroLeague MVP! I am here to give 100 percent, and as I said, defence comes first for me.”
Regarding how he felt playing at this level with Olympiacos, Ndiaye said: “These were preseason games. They are games that we must use to learn. We will practice, and I will have the opportunity to keep learning, and we’ll see…”