By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After the blowout defeat by CSKA Moscow, Barcelona saw its EuroLeague playoff chances getting vanished, more or less. According to head coach Giorgos Bartzokas, the root of his team’s problems can be traced in a mental ground, more than anywhere else.
“One more tough night for us this season. We played against the champions and should have played really well tonight if we wanted to compete. The first quarter was a disaster. I can say that, for me, the problem is mental. We hesitate in every situation, we don’t execute and don’t play without any kind of confidence. CSKA has great talent, made a big difference and the game was over from the first quarter.
“We tried to compete after that, but for this level, it is not enough. We are not consistent, not stable, have many ups and downs and turn the ball over 20 times per game. This EuroLeague is very tough for us with all the things that happened to us this year. Some players had to take one step forwards but did not have the experience to do that. Congratulations to CSKA, they played excellent.
“The truth is that we are Barcelona and have to win and compete everywhere, and at the same time, this season, use our young players. It is difficult to compete everywhere with very young, inexperienced players. This is a realistic approach to Barcelona this season.”
The Greek coach also commented on the fans’ reactions in Palau Blaugrana. Disappointing by the display they were watching on the floor, for one more time the Barca supporters brought out the hankies, waving them at the coach and the players, as they were heading to the locker rooms down 24 – 48.
“Of course, there is the emotional approach. I understand some of our fans, they want Barcelona to win every game, but the realistic approach, and whoever knows a little bit about basketball will understand, is that we have a team with which it is very difficult to compete with the first four teams in the ranking. Sometimes you can see the body language of our players and some of them – experienced, smart players – feel the pressure right now. It is obvious if you see their body language. We can’t compete against CSKA with the team we have but we are not the team that you saw in the first quarter. Our experienced players obviously hesitate and I am trying to support them. It is not easy for anybody in the team right now but I am trying to be supportive, every time.”