Bartzokas: “War is never the solution, I pray it stops”

George Bartzokas was happy with the result, happy with the way Olympiacos played against a fighting side in a demanding stadium after the Red-Whites’ doubles match against Zalgiris Kaunas. The Piraeus team coach also spoke about the war in Ukraine, but also about George Printezis, who is expected to resign at the end of the current season.

Details of what George Bartzokas said:

“Every game here is a great event where people support their team with motivation and will. Zalgiris has a good swing, he plays good basketball, he has Loverne in the rotation, he passes, Yuri Zdovch is doing a great job. We knew it was going to be a complicated game because the EuroLeague is always like that. We were under pressure and had to adapt to it. If we want to be successful, if we want to get in a good position, we have to deal with the pressure. In the end we were consistent in defense and attack, we found open shots, we had patience and creativity. We also had control against the creation of Lekavitsios and the Archers of Zalgiris.

We decided to play in defense with changes at the end. We lost a lot of shots from the threesome, we had a very low percentage especially in away games. In the end we were consistent, but Fal and Martin, like Vezenkov, did a very good job. We didn’t go for home field advantage in the playoffs, we wanted to go back there after three years. In the EuroLeague you can’t look far, you can’t say “I’ll win there, I’ll lose there”. You always have to look at the next game, you have so many games in a very difficult program with difficult opponents. Now we’re playing Panathinaikos on Thursday, a derby that’s always difficult. We must prepare after such an intense battle.

I worked in two teams in Russia, Lokomotiv and Khimki. Some decide, so the EuroLeague, not me. We will see on March 21st if the Russian teams are eliminated from the tournament or not, they will probably be eliminated. When it comes to war, I’m not good at talking about such subjects because I get emotional when I see children lose their parents and their lives. Like everyone, I pray for an end to the war, which is never the solution to anything.

Giankounas and Printezis have my respect, it’s difficult, I ask him if he’s bored that he has the same routine every day. Becoming a champion at this level is not easy for your character, your body and your body. Until last year we also had Spanoulis. We respect Printezis, our leader, everyone loves him because he’s an Olympiacos fan, apart from being a great player. Whatever he decides for the future, I wish him the best of luck“.