By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Tomas Satoransky led Barcelona to victory over Olympiacos in Piraeus, giving them a 2-1 lead in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoff series. After the match, he shared his impressions speaking to Eurohoops.
The Czech point guard, who scored 13 points with five assists and four rebounds for a team-high PIR of 20, emphasized mental preparedness as one of the keys to Barcelona’s road win.
“Obviously, the job is not done. It was important to grab a win here so we can try to close the series, but with these types of games, you never know. The most important thing was staying mentally in the game. It has a lot of ups and downs; it felt like we lost, but we came up with the next big play, and that’s the most important thing against Olympiacos: to stay mentally strong,” Satoransky said.
Satoransky was a part of the 2015 Barcelona – Olympiacos Playoff series, which Georgios Printezis decided in the Greek team’s favor with a Game 4 buzzer-beater.
“I vividly remember Printezis’ shot, but it’s long ago. But I knew how it was going to be in this Arena, with the kind of pressure there is. That helped me to stay in the game, trying to stay solid defensively and offensively.”
He touched on the physicality of the Olympiacos game.
“They make you work for all the shots, especially down the stretch. In the third quarter, they looked a bit tired, but as always, they surprised me; they were back physically, and the players from the bench gave them a boost up in energy.”
Just a couple of days before Game 3 in Piraeus, Barcelona conceded 108 points in the ACB loss to MoraBanc Andorra, but they managed to bounce back.
“I’m proud of my team. Even with our schedule, we were able to find some strength and execute. We had much better spacing than in Barcelona, and that gives you more options.”
Obviously, Barcelona will give everything to end the series in Greece.
“The goal is not to go to the fifth game. I know we would play at home, but anything can happen in that game, so we have a chance, and let’s try to close it on Thursday.”
Even though he admits winning the EuroLeague with Barcelona would be a dream come true, Satornasky insists on going step by step.
“It’s one of the biggest dreams that I’ve ever had since I started playing basketball. There’s a long way to go. Last year, we felt like we could reach it. Anytime you reach F4, you feel that might be your year, but there’s still a lot of work ahead of you. We have to close this series and arrive at the greatest moment possible, but let’s just focus on the present,” Tomas Satoransky concluded.
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