By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Greece’s head coach, Fotis Katsikaris, said, after the end of the match, that his team was well-prepared both physically and mentally, did everything they have planned against Spain but they were defeated due to turnovers and missed shots.
In the beginning, the Greek coach noted: ” We could win the game, but we lost it because Spain did the little things well. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it and we are disappointed. This team will always fight. What we strive for is to do our best in order for the national team to be among the contenders for a medal.”
In a question about the flow of the game and whether Greece was more afraid of their opponents than they should have been, he said: ” We were not afraid of the game. In our plan, we did a decent job defensively. Apart from the ineffectiveness in the pick’n’roll and some rebounds which we were expecting from Mirotic and Reyes. Spain played good defence, which hasn’t played in the tournament so far. They were very concentrated on their defence.”
Regarding the crucial moments of the match, he mentioned: “We lost the game both from defence and offence. Spain only scored 73 points. But, due to some missed shots, free throws and turnovers, we couldn’t be victorious. The squad was mentally ready, but the Spaniards played well defensively. Now, we should immediately be capable of winning the remaining matches in order to secure our place to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.”
Finally, in a question about the referees, Katsikaris said: “It’s not the right time to talk about the referees. The referees didn’t act in the same way regarding the “NBA step” in cases where Gasol did it. Especially, when Antetokounmpo did the same at the end, which could have cut the deficit.”