Johnny Asknis/ [email protected]
Effective defense paid off for Olympiakos in Greece’s OPAP Final 8 final in Iraklio on Sunday.
In a conversation with Eurohoops and Vagelis Ioannou, head coach Giorgos Bartzoukas spoke about the defensive battles that are occurring between the team and Panathinaikos Akhtar, as well as the Reds’ most important successes.
“Panathinaikos has improved a lot defensively. Many of their players are able to work together effectively in defense.” A Greek tactician said: “But they also struggled against our defense.”
Holding the Greens to 58 points certainly led to the team winning the Greek Cup for the 12th time in their history and for the third consecutive year. In the second half, Bartzoukas relied on an unusual lineup and was able to pull away to a safe distance.
“If you can build that kind of culture within your team, every player can become an important asset.” He explained, “I think our biggest success has been building a culture where high-performing players play more, regardless of name or contract.”
On the other hand, Panathinaikos fell short in a derby between eternal enemies. “Olympiakos played better than us in this match, so they deserved to win this cup.” Losing head coach Elgin Ataman confessed this in the post-match press conference. “Our main goal is to win the EuroLeague and Greek League titles.”
The match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos is scheduled in both the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the Greek Stoisima Basketball League. “This result will not be taken into account for the next match.” Bartzoukas spoke to Eurohoops about the upcoming derby.
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