Bartzokas on Satoransky's inbound situation: 'It was a clear violation' / News - Basketnews.com

Georgios Bartzokas mentioned two plays where he thinks referees could have made a different decision in Olympiacos-Barcelona Game 3. The Greek coach also emphasized what the Reds lacked the most and described their mindset going into Game 4.

Credit: Nikola Krstic/MB Media Credit Nikola Krstic/MB Media

Olympiacos Piraeus didn't manage to defend their 6-point lead (69-63) with two minutes left in regulation of their Game 3 against FC Barcelona (80-82).

Player of the Game EFF 20 Tomas Satoransky Points 13 Accuracy 5-7 Rebounds 4 Assists 5

The Reds saw Alex Abrines make two big threes, Nigel-Williams Goss miss what would have been the game-winner at the buzzer, and, finally, Jabari Parker adding the last straw in the extra time.

As the overtime at the Peace and Friendship Stadium was running out, the former NBA forward attempted a 3-point shot, which Filip Petrusev tried to contest.

The referees indicated a foul on the Serbian big man that sent Parker to the free-throw line. Parker hit two of three and signed the Catalans' victory. Now, Barca are leading 2-1 and have the chance to qualify for the Final Four on Thursday night.

Olympiacos' head coach, Georgios Bartzokas, was visibly upset and irritated about the way Olympiacos were defeated. He referred to certain plays, including the last one that decided the contest.

"There's nothing you don't expect in a fight like this," he said in the postgame presser.

"We had more pressure than we should have. We made a few turnovers, especially on defense, not so much on offense. In some decisions, we were excessive instead of sticking to our plan, and of course, everything was against us. We had two chances for a buzzer-beater," the Greek tactician argued.

He then went on to comment on the final plays, mentioning the way Barca started the possession which led to Tomas Satoransky 3-point shot that tied the game at 80 apiece.

"That inbound pass call was very strange," he observed. "The referees counted five seconds there, the ball was still in Satoransky's hands, it was a clear violation. That's where Barcelona tied the game."

Olympiacos Piraeus / Schedule

FC Barcelona Olympiacos Piraeus75-77 FC Barcelona Olympiacos Piraeus77-69 Olympiacos Piraeus FC Barcelona80-82 Olympiacos Piraeus FC BarcelonaThu16:45

Bartzokas went on to clarify that even though "it's not my job to criticize other people's work when someone jumps and travels through the air, and you decide the game with that call, it's other people's responsibility to decide whether it is a good or a bad decision."

Olympiacos conceded 25 points in the third quarter (14-25), which allowed Barcelona to take the upper hand coming from behind.

"We entered the third quarter influenced by how bad our offense was, and we made bad decisions on defense," Bartzokas said.

"We need to have better communication, but they have great players who make very difficult shots. There is no recipe for the shot. It's a management thing, you've got to create open shots. [Isaiah] Canaan had 0/5.

We had to have a better percentage on our court, everything counts when the game goes down to one possession. We have to show confidence in the players as we have done all year for them to reciprocate with better percentages.

When a match is over, you say that there is a lot to be done or everything to the contrary. I make decisions before the final result. More than the offensive rebounds of our opponents, it was also a matter of circumstances.

At the moment I have no answers, everything is decided by the result. Obviously, we could have made different decisions - both the players and myself," Bartzokas concluded.

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