Bartzokas wants EuroLeague coaches to have a say in the calendar: 'Our opinion is never asked' / News - Basketnews.com

After Olympiacos' easy win over Partizan, coach Giorgos Bartzokas spoke about his team's defensive attitude and the upcoming FIBA windows.

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

Olympiacos Piraeus returned to winning ways after two straight home losses with a convincing 87-58 win over visiting Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

The Reds got the best out of Kostas Sloukas, Sasha Vezenkov, and Giannoulis Larentzakis who combined for 46 points and 13 assists.

The game was competitive only in the first 28 minutes. That's before the hosts went off to a partial score of 27-4 that gave them a comfortable win, their fifth overall in the season.

Giorgos Bartzokas called the game "stressful" with regards to how his team approached it because of the losses to AS Monaco and Valencia Basket.

"Everyone thought it was a must-win game. We finally managed to win easily, mainly because of our defensive approach in the second half," the Greek coach stressed in the post-game presser.

In fact, Olympiacos conceded only 30 points in the last 20 minutes, as Partizan struggled to score while dealing with a heavily undermanned roster.

"We were very consistent on the defensive end and fought for every position, rebound, and loose ball. We have enough talent offensively and we're able to raise the score. We need to play unselfishly," Bartzokas noted.

Nevertheless, for a big part of the contest, Olympiacos displayed the same defensive weaknesses as they had done in their two recent defeats at home. The most striking example came at the end of the first half when two turnovers in 14 seconds allowed Partizan to score four points.

Bartzokas is hopeful that now that Olympiacos will play on the road against Bayern Munich, his players' focus will be higher.

"We exaggerated how we played at home to get people excited," he noted.

"When we went up by 8 points vs. Monaco and 16 against Valencia, everyone was playing with enthusiasm and not with logic," he added.

As is the case for most EuroLeague teams with national team players in their ranks, Olympiacos find themselves sandwiched between FIBA and EuroLeague competitions. On the one hand, the Greek national team face Latvia on Friday night and Belgium on the road on Monday. On the other hand, Olympiacos have an important game to prepare against Andrea Trinchieri's squad.

This means that after the contest in Mons, the three Greek internationals (Michalis Lountzis, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Kostas Papanikolaou) will have to travel directly from Belgium to Munich, to join their Olympiacos' teammates. Kostas Sloukas is the only one that will be staying with the rest of the squad.

"There's nothing worse for me. My position is tough," Bartzokas commented.

"We will meet three players in Munich; they will join us on Wednesday. You tell me if it's normal not to be able to play 5-5 because of a window, without any practice. It's not my fault if they get hurt.

This procedure isn't good for anyone, except for fans in Crete. It's bad for basketball and everyone should understand that," the 57-year-old tactician said.

Bartzokas also let it be known that he's not at all happy with the way the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board has (not) been dealing with the issue. Interestingly, the board president is Dimitris Itoudis, Greece NT coach.

"Our opinion is never asked," Bartzokas complained.

"We have an association of coaches, and we're all trying to contribute. But in the proposals we've made for amendments to be implemented, this issue has not been raised.

It would be important if the EuroLeague would consult us. This affects our work 100%," the Greek tactician underlined.

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