Giorgos Bartzokas highlighted the need for Olympiacos to show more patience and stick to its game plan against Real Madrid following the loss in the EuroLeague Super Cup final.

The “Red-and-Whites’” coach focused on the careless mistakes his team made, as well as the missed rebounds, noting that despite these specific problems, Olympiacos had a chance to win the trophy.

Here’s what Giorgos Bartzokas had to say:

“When you don’t win the tournament, you can’t be satisfied. There were parts of the game where we played well and parts where we didn’t. Even today, even though we had significantly fewer possessions than the rebounds they took from us and committed quite a large number of turnovers—many of them very costly at this level—

We were down by two points and had the ball; we drove to the basket with Montero, and immediately afterward, on the missed shot we took, we lost the rebound and they scored. Although key aspects of the game, such as rebounding, went against us, Real has a lot of talent and is playing at a very fast pace right now. It’s very difficult to match that.

We should have stuck to our game plan more—that is, been more patient—because when we were patient, we played well. Every time we rushed our play, we gave them exactly what they wanted.”

On the level of play:

“The level is extremely high; it could easily be a EuroLeague Final Four. If you’re asking me about the ideal conditions for seeing what mistakes we make, what we don’t do, what we need to do well, what we’re doing well, and what we need to improve.

On the other hand, since there was a trophy on the line, we wanted to win it. I believe we had the chance at the end; we didn’t take it, and we’ll move forward. We have plenty of titles, plenty of games, and plenty of challenges to rise to.”

On what he didn’t like about the tournament:

“I think it’s best to analyze it after discussing it with my assistant and reviewing the video. I feel like we made some very careless mistakes in the game—specifically in our execution.

Real Madrid, with Campazzo, Felis, and Maledon—who’ve been with the team for quite some time—controlled the game very well and moved the ball around very effectively. Also, with their big guards and forwards, they caused us a lot of problems. But we had our chance to win. I think we just needed to control the pace of the game better.”

On how difficult or easy it is to manage a situation with Montero, Dorsey, and Fournier at the 3:

“When you have good players, it’s never a problem. You’ll find a way to use them. We’ll play with three guards, or we might play with three forwards.

Since we needed to manage the ball better—because they were pressuring us all over the court—we felt this lineup could help us more. It helped us at one point, because we got back into the game and had a chance to win it.

In some games we’ll play with three guards, in others with three forwards, while today we played with only forwards in the “two” position. It depends on the intensity and demands of the game.”

*photo source: KYPE