Bartzokas: “At a good level for the season, we all know what to do with Barcelona”

Olympiacos traveled to Barcelona where they will face Barcelona tomorrow (7/10) (9:30 p.m., Novasports Prime and LIVE by Sportish) with Giorgos Bartzokas standing in the difficulty of the match.

“It’s a rocky start. We’re playing against very good opponents away from home and it remains to be seen what we’ll achieve‘ the Olympiacos coach initially commented, adding: ‘In this particular period, neither team is defensively and offensively at a very high level of execution. Still, the players’ talent that is present in Barcelona is very important. It has a very deep squad with a lot of skill, even if there are some absences.

We want to be competitive, play the game and every possession is important to us, so we have to take it in a way that at the end of the day we see what we’ve achieved. Barcelona have had the same coach for a few years, they generally have good execution of their games, they have too many games and they try to target certain things. He defends the ball well, in two-on-two partnerships.

In general, we have a plan that we have explained to the players on how to play. However, at the end of the day, only the intensity you play will bring you profits. The sportsmanship, the responsibility of each player to fulfill their role”.

For the image of Olympiakos also in the Supercup, the experienced technician emphasized: “KWe played nine pre-season games plus two in Rhodes. I think it’s a sufficient number to prepare. The problem is that in the last three we had our entire squad and not complete because Black didn’t play in Rhodes. But I don’t want to complain.

I think we prepared well and didn’t have any injuries. We are at a good level for our season and the fact that most of the team members have known each other since last year helps us.

We all know what we must do. I think we will be competitive in the game and that we will fight against a team that is very difficult to beat, especially at home.”

Vezhenkov: “The excuses are over”

Sasha Vezenkov also spoke about the Olympiakos premiere, stating: “It’s a tough game with a team that always excels. After two unsuccessful attempts in the last two years, who wants to win the title in this year’s Euroleague?

However, we know how difficult it is to play in this place and we are ready to give 100% and fight for every chance of victory.”

What Olympiacos must do to win, the talented striker stressed: “We have to control the pace. Let’s play a very good defense. Barcelona aim with every attack. I’m a team that has the same coach for the third year in a row, so we have to control the pace, not make mistakes and be mentally ready for the basketball our opponent is playing, we have to cope.

Of course the teams are still “searching”, it’s only the first matchday, but we know that every result counts in the Euroleague… So we should be ready to get the win.”

Concluding, he said about the preparation affected by EuroBasket: “Every coach and every player would like a little more, but as I said, the Euroleague starts today, every result counts, so excuses are over. We have to be ready so that we can claim every game and get wins that will be very important for the development of the league.”