Βy Vangelis Papadimitriou/ info@eurohoops.net
The former want the win in order to finish as high up as they can in the Top 8 and the latter in order to hold on to second place in the regular season!
Georgios Bartzokas meets Zeljko Obradovic once again with the two of them forming one of the most interesting match-ups in recent years in the EuroLeague!
The Greek record holder and the almighty Zoc!
Bartzokas has coached five teams in the top league, a record number for a Greek coach!
It started in 2009/10 with Maroussi, who almost made the Top 8, then came Olympiacos (2012/14) and the champion’s trophy in 2013.
Getting Lokomotiv Kuban to the Final Four in 2016 for the first time in their history was an important success, but it was followed by his worst season in the competition (2016/17) with Barcelona. This season is yet another medal in his career, as he’s taking Khimki to the playoffs for the first time in their history.
As for Obradovic, what is there to say? He’s by far the best coach in the history of European basketball, with 9 EuroLeague trophies to his name! He has sat on the bench of 6 teams and has reached the top with 5 of them (Partizan, Badalona, Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce).
He has faced Bartzokas with two different teams: with Panathinaikos, of course, and, since 2013, with Fenerbahce. In fact, the latter is a team that connects the two, since one’s decision regarding the Turkish club affected the other’s career.
The contract with Olympiacos and Fenerbahce
Let’s go back to the summer of 2013. Georgios Bartzokas led Olympiacos to the top of Europe, but the domestic championship was lost and, in fact, with a sweep by Panathinaikos, as the Greens were crowned Greek champions in 3-0.
Fenerbahce wanted to climb to a higher level and were aiming for the top. So they threw even more money in the market and the coach of Olympiacos was their first choice to take over the project. Bartzokas had actually said “yes” and had signed a preliminary agreement. With one condition, though.
For this to happen and him to work in Fenerbahce, he had to leave Olympiacos, with whom he had a contract until the summer of 2014. It was simply that the deal he had signed in the summer with the Greek club was for 1+1 seasons, with the Reds having the option to renew for the second season.
The two sides talked it over and Olympiacos decided to not let Bartzokas go with this contract but to offer him an extension with a better financial remuneration. The Greek coach accepted and stayed in Piraeus. Thus Fenerbahce were left hung out to dry.
This domino of developments affected Zoc, who shook hands with Fenerbahce for several million euros and led them to the EuroLeague title in 2017.
He hasn’t lost in 4 years!
Even though they first went against each other 9 years ago, Georgios Bartzokas and Zeljko Obradovic count only 9 clashes between them and the Serb is the absolute protagonist with 7-2.
Up to 3 games, the… score was 2-1 in favor of the Greek coach, but the Serb made a 6-0 run and has forgotten what it’s like to lose. The last time he lost to a team coached by Bartzokas was on 3/1/14, when Olympiacos had beaten Fenerbahce 95-82. Those 95 points are, to this day, the most scored in a game between the two coaches.
| Season (phase) | Game | Result |
| 2009/10 (Top 16) | Maroussi-Panathinaikos | 80-78 |
| 2009/10 (Top 16) | Panathinaikos-Maroussi | 82-79 |
| 2013/14 (Top 16) | Olympiacos-Fenerbahce | 95-82 |
| 2013/14 (Top 16) | Fenerbahce-Olympiacos | 78-74 |
| 2015/16 (Top 16) | Fenerbahce-Lokomotiv Kuban | 85-79 |
| 2015/16 (Top 16) | Lokomotiv Kuban-Fenerbahce | 52-55 |
| 2016/17 (regular season) | Barcelona-Fenerbahce | 72-73 |
| 2016/17 (regular season) | Fenerbahce-Barcelona | 68-65 |
| 2017/18 (regular season) | Fenerbahce-Khimki | 71-67 |
With the score being 82-79, Billy Keys and Kostas Kaimakoglou lost the chance to get the game to overtime and win it. Marousi lost the chance to advance in the next phase and so did Panathinaikos, the defending champ after winning the 2009 EuroLeague. Αnd while the two coaches have not met in the playoffs, or in a Final Four, that have been opponents in a historic game. Back in 2010 Panathinaikos beat Marousi which was the cinderella of the EuroLeague and missed being part of the Top8 by just one shot.