Georgios Bartzokas: 'Winning first place is the goal' / News - Basketnews.com

Olympiacos will clinch first place if they win against Crvena Zvezda or if all three teams - FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and AS Monaco - lose their matchups in Round 33.

Credit: Stefanos Kyriazis / ipa-a/SIPA - Scanpix Credit Stefanos Kyriazis / ipa-a/SIPA - Scanpix

Olympiacos Piraeus are currently leading the EuroLeague with 23 wins in 32 games. Ahead of the Round 33 game against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, the team's head coach Georgios Bartzokas talked about the goals the club still has to reach.

Olympiacos Piraeus / Schedule

Olympiacos Piraeus LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne81-55 Olympiacos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens81-73 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade Olympiacos PiraeusThu17:00

The Greek specialist is clear - achieving first place is the top priority.

"Since we have achieved the previous goals [of getting to the playoffs and capturing home-court advantage], winning first place is now the goal. We'd like to finish first," Bartzokas said during pre-game media availability. "We can do it."

The two teams could not be in different places heading into the matchup. Olympiacos are one win away from clinching first place in the regular season. One the other side, Crvena Zvezda have already been eliminated from playoff contention despite adding Facundo Campazzo to the roster.

Talking about the matchup, Bartzokas doesn't expect the Serbian team to let his team win easily.

"I expect nothing less than a difficult game. EuroLeague is such a tournament where nobody's relaxed and nobody plays disinterested or unmotivated," the specialist explained his point of view. "It will certainly be a difficult match. We'll have to work hard if we want to win there."

Kostas Sloukas has been in a slump recently, averaging just 5.6 points and 3 assists for 2.6 PIR in the last three matches. However, Bartzokas is certain that the star guard can recapture the performance that's made him one of the best in the league.

"These are not games for these kinds of experiments," the coach said about possibly giving Sloukas more playing time to let him get back to the rhythm. "Kostas will play the time he needs based on the schedule we've all made together. I believe that little by little, because he has been training better lately, he will be at a good level when he needs to be."

Olympiacos will clinch first place if they win against Crvena Zvezda. The same scenario will also happen if all three teams - FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and AS Monaco - lose their matchups in Round 33.

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