Giorgos Bartzokas to his players: 'I'm proud of you, you're real champions' / News - Basketnews.com

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Olympiacos Piraeus head coach Giorgos Bartzokas won his maiden domestic title on Sunday night, as the Reds overcame their eternal rivals Panathinaikos OPAP Athens to claim their first Greek cup in elven years.

Points this season

47%79,5Points made:79,5Accuracy:47,0%Place in standings:5Record max:93Record min:67Best scorer:Tyler DorseyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Bartzokas guided Olympiacos from 2012 through 2014, but didn't get to beat the Greens in games that really mattered. In fact, it was a defeat in the Greek Cup quarterfinals to PAO on 9 October, 2014 that triggered his resignation. In the post-final presser, the Greek coach gave props to both his team and to the losing side.

"Congratulations to Panathinaikos, they made a very good game and forced us to reach our limits. They also made some tough shots and put pressure on us. But we stayed calm and played with confidence.

Our defense was very good in the last 15 minutes and we got a boost. We managed to shoot the ball better. We achieved the first goal we had set out to accomplish."

Bartzokas went on to use one of Panagiotis Giannakis's quotes to illustrate the atmosphere surrounding such Greek derbies.

"The media heralded this game as a contest of life and death. As Panagiotis Giannakis once said, "I've played a lot of life or death matches, but I'm still alive." In a final, two teams compete, but only one wins," the 56-year-old tactician said.

Asked whether the 4th quarter was his best with Olympiacos from a tactical standpoint, Bartzokas replied that the Reds have delivered such dominant performances in EuroLeague games also.

"I don't want to say that the Greek Cup is a bigger success than winning the EuroLeague. Players translate the decisions of the coach. They played awesome defense. We didn't leave a single Panathinaikos's shot uncontested. Details also play a role."

Prior to taking the floor in the press conference, Giorgos Bartzokas had given a speech to the players in the locker room, with presidents-owners Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos in attendance.

"Guys, we showed character," the Greek coach said.

"This was a really difficult game with the way that Panathinaikos were scoring in the first half. So, our second-half defense was fantastic. This is what we have to do until the end of the season. I'm proud of you, you're real champions."

Giorgos Angelopoulos told players:

"Tonight, you guys talked. You've prove that you're the better team. You've proven what Olympiacos are all about. We're proud of you and of what we have built over here all these years. You guys are amazing."

Giorgos Printezis stressed how much a domestic title was missing from Olympiacos. The team's captain was present in 2011 when his team downed Panathinaikos, still led by Zeljko Obradovic.

"We've had several years without a title. We all wanted it very much, we needed it. I'm proud and happy to be on this team and I'll give my best as long as my help is needed. Another dream of mine has come true."

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Kostas Papanikolaou, also present in 2011 (in his first season of his first stint with Olympiacos) spoke about his feelings after winning the Cup. The Greek forward got very emotional once the winner was finalized. Papanikolaou couldn't hold back tears as players and staff were celebrating on and off the court of the "Dyo Aorakia" gym in Heraklion.

"It's the emotions and the many years I've been on the team," the 31-year-old explained. In 2018, Olympiacos lost the Cup trophy to AEK Athens in the very same gym. Papanikolaou was unable to make the difference for the Reds.

"I personally felt some kind of a burden and a lot of pressure because last time out, we didn't make it on this court. We owed it to our fans, to us, to our presidents," he went on to say.

"McKissic, Dorsey, Walkup did a tremendous job. Walkup managed to contain Nedovic, everyone has contributed," he concluded.

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On the other end, Panathinaikos were the better team for the most part of the final. However, a catastrophic 0-15 run for Olympiacos in the fourth quarter sentenced the 20-time Greek Cup winners to a bitter defeat. PAO didn't get to score a single basket in the contest's last ten minutes, with their 6 points coming off of free-throws exclusively.

Coach Dimitris Priftis stressed that his team played the right way for 30 minutes, adding that their late collapse creates a bad momentum for them.

"We made a really good effort," the Greek tactician said. "Unfortunately, that lasted only for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, we collapsed, shooting very poorly. Obviously it's a tough time. We must raise our head," he stated at the beginning of the post-game presser.

Commenting on Panathinaikos's performance, Dimitris Priftis admitted that for everyone on the team, Sunday is "a bad day, but there are always promising pieces. That, of course, can't bail us out at the moment. We weren't able to show consistency throughout the entire game and that cost us," he poignantly uttered.

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