Bartzokas defends his game-deciding call, finds silver lining in Olympiacos' sorrow / News - Basketnews.com

Following Olympiacos' loss to Real Madrid, coach Giorgos Bartzokas gave his take on both teams' crucial plays, stressing the things that went south for his side.

Credit: Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

In 2013,Giorgos Bartzokaswon the EuroLeague with Olympiacos Piraeus against Real Madrid. Ten years later, it was the Spanish powerhouse that had the last laugh in a thrilling game that went down to the wire.

Player of the Game EFF 23 Sergio Rodriguez Points 15 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 4 Assists 9

There were a lot of plays and decisions that gave Madrid the chance to win their 11th continental title, and Bartzokas singled out some of them while pointing out his team's mistakes at crunch time.

"It's the bitterest way to lose a game," the Greek tactician told NOVASPORTS.

"Last year, it was the same story in the semi-final," Bartzokas recalled, referring to Olympiacos falling to Anadolu Efes and Vasilije Micic's game-winning 3-pointer.

"We controlled the game, but we missed three shots and three possessions," he continued.

"Sergio Llull's basket was very difficult, as Moustapha Fall was on him. But it went in and that's it. Real Madrid played zone defense for 38 minutes because they couldn't play man-to-man.

We made a lot of open shots, but we lost 4-5 completely open shots which would have changed the balance in our favor," the back-to-back COTY uttered.

"Considering the missed shots and Sergio Rodriguez's 3-pointer, everything that could make us lose the game happened."

Bartzokas admitted he momentarily thought that Olympiacos could foul at Real Madrid's possession with 12 seconds left on the game clock.

"We were one point ahead," he defended his decision not to send Madrid to the charity stripe.

"We gave up a very difficult shot, but Llull hadn't scored another basket until that point. He's a high-class player, who has no sense of danger. It was a contested shot that went in."

Then, Olympiacos had to make do with 3.2'' left. Real Madrid were up by one (79-78) and Kostas Sloukas was the obvious choice for the inbound pass recipient. But things didn't turn out as they had in Istanbul and Game 3, when the Greek guard somehow pulled it off.

Olympiacos Piraeus / Schedule

Olympiacos Piraeus AS Monaco76-62 Olympiacos Piraeus Real Madrid78-79

"We drew a play and Kostas came up with a pull-up under good conditions," he commented on the game's last possession.

Overall, Bartzokas thinks Olympiacos played very good defense at the end. "But Canaan took a rejection on the pick-and-roll by Tavares and Sergio Rodriguez made that 3-pointer," he reflected.

In a season with many highs and a bitter aftertaste, Bartzokas says everyone on the team will take stock of the pros and cons at the end, when the Greek league's over.

"We're terribly distressed, but we can't help it," he conceded.

"Life goes on, but our guys' heads in the locker room are all facing the floor right now. We played good basketball and certified our class. I thank Olympiacos' fans who came here from all over Greece," the coach of the EuroLeague finalists said.

"We ended the year in a bitter way. We have stimulated the public interest in basketball in Greece," Bartzokas argued.

"The season doesn't end the way it should, but that's sport and we still have a goal. Life doesn't end here, no matter how hard that blow was for us."

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