Basketball
Bartzokas: “Lover’s return has made Zalgiris more rational”
Giorgos Bartzokas and Sakil Makkisik spoke at the farewell of the Olympic delegation in view of the away game against Zalgiris (March 15, 20:00).
Another hell of a week begins for Olympiacos in the EuroLeague, which in theory meets the bottom two in the table, but in practice has to overcome two obstacles that have been difficult for them in recent years.
The start will be on Tuesday night at Zalgirio Arena, followed by SEF vs Panathinaikos OPAP.
The Red-Whites traveled to Kaunas on Monday, March 14, with Giorgos Bartzokas focusing on the intensity needed for Olympiakos to exit Zalgiris HQ victorious.
“Zalgiris has been playing very well lately. He has won four of the last five games with very convincing performances. They play very well in defense and with great motivation, contrary to their goal position. But, as I said a few days ago, all teams that don’t score have quality, good coaches, good players and willingness to play. Some of the injured have also returned and are playing very well now. It’s obvious they easily beat Real Madrid there, they beat Barcelona too, so you understand the magnitude of the game’s difficulty“said the Olympiacos coach at first.
When asked if he thought the timing was good as the game against Panathinaikos at SEF follows later in the week, he replied: “No, I don’t think it’s good because games with Panathinaikos are always special. But we have five games ahead of us and we only have to watch the first of those. I try to convince everyone that this is the most important thing. From the video that our players watched, they understood that Zalgiris plays very hard. That puts a lot of pressure on the defense. Lovern’s return has streamlined things in terms of how they play. It will be a very difficult match“.
What Olympiakos needs to watch out for to return with the double he said: “We have to beat the hardness they play. This is the first. If you don’t do this when you’re just playing with the talent and the offensive part of the game, you’re out of luck. They must be on the same level of hardness“.
McKissick: “We only think about today”
For his part, Shaquille McKissick remarked: “I believe that tension will play an important role. We have to be smart on the defensive to set the tone early and take the win“.
When asked if there is in his mind and that of his teammates the next game with Panathinaikos OPAP, he replied: “In any case, we look at each game separately and each training session separately. We only think about today. Tomorrow we have a very difficult game and that’s all we’re concentrating on“.
Concluding on the painful defeat in Kaunas last year, he said: “It was a tough defeat and a difficult time, but now it’s a new season, a new year, so tomorrow we have to ‘finish’ the job.“.
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
On 30 November, a series of matches of the 12th round of the regular season were played as part of the EuroCup.
“Shlensk” Issouf Sanona It played away against Cluj-Napoca and was defeated in the tie game, where the leader changed 18 times. The decisive factor in the match was Miletic’s two-point shot with 2 seconds left, which gave the home team a 94:92 victory.
Sanon spent 18 minutes on the field and became the team’s most productive player, scoring 17 points (5/6 free throws, 3/6 two-pointers, 2/7 three-pointers) during this time. Issouf also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
“Buducnost” Alexandra Kovlyara It played at home against Türk Telekom and lost the first quarter 20:23, but won the next three quarters to achieve an overwhelming victory with a score of 91:81.
While Kovlyar played 9 minutes, he had 1 rebound and 2 assists.
European Cup. Regular season. 12th round, 30 December
Cluj-Napoca – Slensk – 94:92 (22:17, 27:34, 21:23, 24:18)
Cluj-Napoca: Russell (30 points + 7 rebounds + 7 assists), Miletic (19+14+5), Guzman (14+5+1), Molinar (13+1+4), Siser (7+6+1), Kulvetis (5+4+1), Woodbury (3+2+2), Patrick (3+1+1).
Shlensk: Sanon (17+4+4), Kirkwood (16+7+3), Djordjevic (16+9+2), Penawa (13+3+1), Niesel (8+4+3), Kulikowski (6+1+2), Urbaniak (6+7 rebounds), Czerniewicz (5+1 assists), Nunez (3+4+1), Wisniewski (1+2+1).
Budućnost – Türk Telekom – 91:81 (20:23, 24:21, 20:18, 27:19)
Budućnost: Sulaimon (25+1+1), Tanaskovic (17+13+1), Ferrell (16+4+3), Mace (15+2+5), Butey (8+2 rebounds), Mega (5), Jovanovic (2+1 rebounds), Thompson (2+3 rebounds), Butsiel (1+2 rebounds), Kovlyar (1 rebound + 2 assists).
Turk Telekom: Smith (18+1+1), Allman (17+3+4), Özdemiroğlu (12+5 assists), Bankston (9+5+1), Deveaux (7+2 rebounds), Trifunovic (6+1 rebounds), Alexander (4+5 rebounds), Durmaz (4+1 assists), Simonovic (4+4+1), Usher (3 rebounds + 2 assists).
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to left knee hyperextension.
The Serb is expected to miss all 18 matches in January and his maximum appearances this season could be limited to 64 matches. So Jokic will lose the opportunity to compete for the NBA’s main prizes – MVP and inclusion in the All-NBA, as this requires playing at least 65 games in the regular season.
Theoretically, he could return for the January 31 game against the Brooklyn Nets, which would give Nikola the opportunity to play 65 games before the end of the season, but that scenario is unlikely.
Jokic was injured in the last seconds of the first half of the match against Miami Heat (123:147) and did not return to the field after a long break. Before his injury, he managed to score 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 30, 2025
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
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