By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Right after the end of the win of Fenerbahce Beko over Olympiacos Piraeus, the coaches of the two teams had quite a heated exchange.
Fenerbahce coach Sarunas Jasikevicius approached Giorgos Bartzokas for the traditional post-game handshake and began waving and pointing his finger at the Olympiacos coach. He then gave his hand to him and started talking to him in a visibly angry tone.
Bartzokas responded to Saras and what followed was a quite intense argument between the two coaches. Nigel Williams-Goss of Olympiacos and Bonzie Colson from Fenerbahce had to intervene and separate them.
“Saras attacked me right after the game,” Bartzokas said in the post-game presser, repeating more or less what he had previously mentioned in the flash interview. “Whatever happened during the game, was each of us getting a technical foul. When I gave him my hand he attacked me. This was totally disrespectful.”
👀 Fenerbahçe Beko – Olympiakos maçının sonunda Sarunas Jasikevicius ve Georgios Bartzokas arasında sinirler gerildi. pic.twitter.com/CdJ3Y40rYN
— Eurohoops Türkiye (@EurohoopsTR) October 4, 2024
Jasikevicius later addressed the incident himself. “First of all, we have a very good relationship with Georgios,” the Lithuanian coach said. “I wanted to keep it in the family of coaches, but I heard he made some comments, so I need to respond.”
“It’s the second time he’s teaching me on the sidelines how to coach,” Saras added. “The first time it happened was when he was in Khimki. I won’t let any coach tell me what I must do with my team. I believe this is unacceptable.”
Fenerbahce took the victory behind 19 points, seven assists, and five rebounds by newcomer Wade Baldwin. Moses Wright had 15 points and seven rebounds for Olympiacos.