“I told the players that I want Barcelona because I wanted to win tonight.”

After the win over Fenerbahce, Giorgos Barzoukas reviewed Olympiacos' progress in the Euroleague regular season, explaining that it is impossible for his team to choose an opponent in the playoffs. The Greek coach focused on the 22 wins, the numerous injury problems, but also on the teams that were eliminated from the competition.

In detail, what Giorgos Bartzokas said:

“Tonight's game was a very representative image of what the EuroLeague is all about. From the beginning of October until tonight, every match has been a real battle. The quality is at a high level, and the tactics are great. The event is the toughest in the world. I am grateful to the people, the players and the staff because we achieved the goal of qualifying.

We finished with 22 wins, which I think is great. Everyone knows how many problems we faced and how we overcame those difficult situations. I want to remind you that last year we had 24 wins and 1st place. Now we look forward to the qualifiers with Barcelona, ​​without home advantage. Basketball is the same everywhere and we have to stick together and be in the best physical condition possible to fight for the Final Four again. Congratulations to Jasikevicius and Fenerbahce, they played very well.

I don't like all the matches to be played together, because then you won't be able to see the other matches. I prefer what is done now. We have a lot of good players, and they have to accept that in some games not everyone can play. We will play 70 games or more before we enter the A1 qualifiers, and that is a lot, including the national teams in the summer. In some matches the player tells you in his own way “I can't play anymore”. I'm here to do the hard work.

This year, in 18 wins, I was eighth. At 17 I was in ninth or 10th place. I remind you that Armani Milano, Partizan with 20-30 thousand people at each match, Red Star and other teams were excluded from the playoffs. This shows the level of competition, it is blood and sand in every match. I don't know if there is a uniform science about who wants to lose. Is there anyone who prefers Monaco with this quality and this talent? I told the players before the match that I wanted to play for Barcelona, ​​not because I choose this team, but because I wanted to win tonight in order to play with them.

We didn't play well, and a lot of us fell behind. We could have left earlier, but I understand the players, they are tired. We will prepare for the playoffs.

When we were in 7-8th place, we said we played without starters, without Vale, without Milutinov, without Williams-Goss, without Walkup. Almost everyone was out, and it took McKissick six months to get back into shape. We tried to survive the first period, and we had a lot of deliveries, and finally we had a good second round and enter the playoffs with good momentum. We played with our backs against the wall in hard seats. This is the important thing.

We played Barcelona several times and I would like to tell you that I have many friends in the city, we stayed there for 4-5 years as a family, and I have good memories. There is no doubt that they are a team of the highest level, we lost to them twice“.