Olympiacos focus on mental readiness to deliver the knockout punch to Monaco / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

As Olympiacos Pireaus head into Game 4 against AS Monaco leading the series 2-1, Giorgos Bartzokas wants to make sure his players are mentally ready for combat.

The coach of the Greek team admitted that his players are overloaded because of the "great intensity", in which Wednesday's contest was played.

"Players have worked hard all season long to make their bodies ready for these kinds of games. Of course, the same goes for Monaco, who also played with great intensity yesterday," the 56-year-old tactician added.

"The mind drives the body, it is always a matter of mental readiness in this series. If we keep our minds inside our head, the body will respond," he continued.

Asked about the decisive factors in Game 4, Bartzokas said that every game is determined by different things.

"Defenses were tough which led to a low-scoring Game 1. Monaco got many points off isolation and scored in bunches in Game 2. Game 3 was full of intensity, but both teams went high on the scoreboard. The officiating has always something to do with it, as the referees influence the game's nature."

The one thing that Bartzokas doesn't want to see is his players giving up easy points off turnovers. On Wednesday, the Reds turned the ball over 15 times, mostly in the second half, allowing Monaco some transition points. For the experienced coach, what matters the most is how Olympiacos will respond to the hosts' full-court press.

"Obviously, we shouldn't give the ball into their hands," he stressed. "They got some very good on-ball defenders. We have to set up our offensive game and execute well because that's the way to score a lot. To do that, we need also to control our emotions, make good decisions on defense and go strong on the glass."

According to what Bartzokas said in his pre-game remarks, Olympiacos's practice session was by no means intense. Hassan Martin will probably sit out again, as he has been unable to join team practices over the last two weeks. The American big man keeps working out on an individual basis and it's highly unlikely that he'll get any playing time on Friday.

Olympiacos's presidents-owners Giorgos and Panagiotis Angelopoulos attended the team's training session and had a chat with Bartzokas and the players. The two arrived in Monaco late on Wednesday, just in time for Game 3, and will join the charter flight that will take the squad back to Greece on Saturday.

Kostas Sloukas, who put up 21 points in Game 3, called the Reds' win "big", but added that his side has a lot of "mistakes to correct" ahead of the next outing.

"We have to be more ready spiritually," the 32-year-old guard argues.

"There is no physical fatigue, we are one breath away from the Final Four. We have to look at our mistakes, especially when Monaco bounced back from -15."

Sloukas used a boxing metaphor to convey where Olympiacos are right now.

"It's like a boxing game. We have to do the knockout because Monaco is a strong, dangerous team that can do damage if the series heads to Piraeus for Game 5," he maintains.

Credit Olympiacos BC

Sloukas has played three Final Fours with Olympiacos and another four with Fenerbahce, having won three titles overall. His intentions are very clear.

"I want to go to the Final Four. That's why I'm here. Everyone is working towards getting the team there and tomorrow is a good day to finish the series," he said with confidence.

According to the Greek international, Olympiacos shouldn't "let Monaco believe that they can win."

"We know they'll give it their all, but we mustn't let this opportunity go to waste."

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