By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos head coach David Blatt said that he believes that his team will sign a player to bolster a currently unmanned roster for the remainder of the season.
“I believe we will bring another player in the place of the ones that left,” Blatt said in the post-game flash interview following the 80 – 59 home win over PAOK Thessaloniki. He later echoed his belief in the press conference.
“I expect that we will bring someone else in to help the team. It hasn’t be done and I can’t guarantee it, but I believe we’ll try. If we can,” Blatt mentioned.
Olympiacos faced PAOK with eight players from the senior team. Apart from the injured guards Vassilis Spanoulis and Janis Strelnieks, Nigels Williams-Goss has taken a leave of absence to travel to the USA for his grandmother funeral. Forward Axel Toupane informed Olympiacos that his contract is terminated with the players’ side citing payment issues while guard Briante Weber and the club have reached a mutual decision to part ways.
Early in the first half vs. PAOK, Blatt also saw Printezis being forced to exit the game due to a low back issue.
“I want to congratulate my players for the way they came out and fought. The way they played together and represented the club in the best possible way,” Blatt commented.
Things got heated a little bit later when he was asked about the referees of the Greek Cup game against Panathinaikos, in which Olympiacos left the arena at halftime.
As Olympiacos has asked those three referees have not called since any other game of the Reds, the question was about whether or not they should be able to call a game of Olympiacos again and Blatt added: “Anyone who knows about basketball and who is a bit objective would see that what was done in that game was absolutely incredible. That’s what I never have seen in my life, ever. And I hope that I will not see it again… Shameful… ugly… terrible…so, whether or not they called our games or not… that stuff sits on my mind. That was disgraceful, honestly”.