By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas got an easy win over Partizan, however, the issue at the press conference was the FIBA Windows.
Asked on the matter, Bartzokas explained the strange situation he is in as the head coach of Olympiacos: “This is not normal. We all love the national teams, and we want to help the teams, we will give three players, and then they will travel from Belgium to Munich and we will meet them again before the match against Bayern”.
To be exact, Michalis Loutzis will travel in a few hours from Athens to Crete and in theory, he will be available for the game against Latvia on Friday (11/11). Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannoulis Larentzakis will join the team after the Latvia game and they will play against Belgium on Monday (14/11).
As Bartzokas said: “This is not something that is anyone’s responsibility, either the national team coach, or myself, and of course the players. This is a situation that doesn’t satisfy anyone, other than the fans of Crete. We can’t really prepare any game properly and there’s always a risk of injury”.
What’s more alarming is the fact that the coaches’ and the players’ opinions on the matter are not heard: “We have never been asked on the issue, our opinion is not heard, but after all, that’s not an issue for the coaches”.