Bartzokas: 'Giannakopoulos has been attacking me in every way for months' / News - Basketnews.com

Olympiacos Piraeus head coach fired back at Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens president Dimitris Giannakopoulos after a recent controversy.

Credit: IMAGO/Contrast - Scanpix Credit IMAGO/Contrast - Scanpix

Georgios Bartzokas, the head coach of Olympiacos Piraeus, and Dimitris Giannakopoulos, the president of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, got into a spat right after the end of the latest Greek derby, which went PAO's way with a score of 77-71.

Free throws this season

75%14,9Points made:14,9Accuracy:75,3%Place in standings:3Record max:25Record min:8Most made FTs:Mathias LessortTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

After the spat turned into something larger, with both club managements getting involved in the process, coach Bartzokas made the following remarks after the championship round game against Promitheas Patras, which ended with a score of 80-69 for Olympiacos.

"I can't argue with a president. That's not my job," Bartzokas began. "I'm a coach going up against another coach. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my condolences on the death of Ergin Ataman's father," he took time to offer condolences for the passing of Ergin Ataman's father, Ibrahim Ataman.

"Now, if the rival president of Panathinaikos has been attacking me every way for months, it's not my job to deal with it. I don't have social media, I don't have media like him. I could give an interview, [but] I don't want to do it," Bartzokas said. "I want to do it just for my team, to be totally focused on our goal."

"The announcement of my team completely covers me," he continued, recalling Olympiacos's statement that protected him against the announcement from PAO. "I remember that in the past, Panagiotis Giannakis found himself in this position."

"It is this toxic game that is played in Greek basketball when two teams are very strong. Now, if they're making it personal, maybe it's an honor for me because, obviously, they want me to leave Olympiacos! There's something I must be doing well," he concluded on a stern note.

As a reminder, the last Greek derby preceded a debacle in which Giannakopoulos accused Bartzokas of provoking fans. Olympiacos fired back and called on the Greek government to punish Giannakopoulos for his behavior.

At the moment, in the Greek Basket League championship round, PAO is on the 1st place, with Olympiacos trailing behind them at the 2nd place.

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