By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Beko managed to draw the series with Olympiacos Piraeus 1-1 before transferring to Istanbul, however, Dimitris Itoudis does not forget which team he is facing. He did not fail to anoint Olympiakos as a favorite even while the countdown to Game 3 at Ulker Sports and Event Hall has begun.
“We are happy that we’re back in Istanbul for game three but we are aware that this series is long, playing against a great team and the leader of the EuroLeague regular season. We need to do many things well and we need to compete. We proved that we can compete, and that’s what we want to do; compete on the highest level and fight for each and every possession. They are still the favorites but we proved that we can compete,” Itoudis said.
Nigel Hayes Davis, one of the team’s top performers lately, insists that the key is sticking to the game plan.
“It’s going to be a really tough game as usual. Best team in EuroLeague all year. Luckily we were able to get a win so we have a formula or recipe to follow and it’s up to us. As I said after games one and two, to be disciplined. We have to be disciplined for 40 minutes and whichever team executes their game plan for the full game will be the one who wins and we want it to be us,” Davis said.
Bartzokas: I expect difficult games, but it will be more difficult for Fenerbahce
Olympiacos‘ head coach Georgios Barzokas highlighted the elements that will play an important role.
“Many times it is a matter of circumstances, of the day, of approach, of coincidences, of the opponent’s situation. We have focused on preparing the team for the game. Small things always happen, but with the tactics that Fener played us, that’s what they had in the previous ones when they lost. It plays a role for the players to manage the stress and the criticality, all the details play a role. We didn’t play well in the last game, but in the end, the game was decided by one possession. I expect difficult games, but it will be more difficult for Fenerbahce,” Bartzokas said.
He remembered the last season’s playoffs, where Olympiacos lost to Monaco in Game 2 as well, but eventually won in five.
“Last year we lost the second game, we had the experience but we didn’t learn from it. The human factor is very important and we have a lot of people here. Each person handles the stress and the criticality differently, you can’t put it in everyone’s mind. We try to control the team game, the psychology of the team, but we’re not talking about kids, we’re talking about professionals. I’m talking about both teams,” the head coach of Olympiacos concluded.