Defense led Panathinaikos to the victory against Olympiacos according to Argyris Pedoulakis. The Greens' coach had something special to say about Loukas Mavrokefalidis and the fans of the team.
"This games between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are always special. I have sent that it's not the best possible period for this kind of games, because they hurt our energy. It's something that was obvious during the first half. We had to face Lasme's illness (stomach flu) and the fact that Roko Leni Ukic had two fouls early in the game. Throughout the game the point of reference for us was the defense. It was an important element for us. In offense we didn't perform well. The catalytic elements during the fourth quarter were Loukas Mavrokefalidis and Dimitris Diamantidis. They calmed the game down. I want to speak about Loukas, because he had four rebounds. He know to wait and to be patient. He is an example for the younger players. The atmosphere was good and we thank the fans for this. As a team we can improve. We have another game in three days. There is an issue with our energy. We will try to face it. Giorgos (Bartzokas) is right. We paid the price for our big problems we had due to injuries during Euroleague regular season. The difference is that then you crucified us. Regarding our offense we were very static. It's not easy for a player to adjust to the way Panathinaikos plays. Today we won because we spotted the mis matches better. Big games will lead to a 5-5 game. We try, given Diamantidis' presence to build on this part. It's not easy though".
Asked why Panathinaikos didn't get a new player when injuries occurred, Pedoulakis replied: "We didn't want to mess with our budget. It's one of the most important goals to be good in this area too. We didn't want to get a player just to say that we got a player. The management is here to help us if we need it. We send that we can improve Pappas. We missed Lasme for four months. Roko plays with one practice a week. We had a lot of problems. We have weaknesses, but we also have self awareness. We try to solve it within the team".
James Gist stated: "Olympiacos created some problems to us today. We tried to follow our plan. We didn't play well in offense. The key of success was our good defense, our will and the rebounds. We have to stay humble".
Giorgos Bartzokas (coach, Olympiacos) stated: "Congratulations to Panathinaikos for its victory. We wanted to win and we should be more productive and decisive. It was not a quality game for us. It was a close game for 35 minutes. Panathinaikos won because they took advantage of our hesitation. You can't win in here by scoring 50 points. Of course, even if we had won the game, we would still not have the advantage for the first place in regular season. One way or another, the road to the title comes through this arena. We have to prepare ourselves and to win. The games between these two teams demand a special mental and psychological preparation. We lost two games here because we didn't play well and Panathinaikos was better. As I said before our path passes through OAKA.
It is usually said that the coaches must "dope" psychologically their players. The players knows what's wrong, by watching the video. That's why sometimes you have to speak to them in harsh words. Injuries cost Panathinaikos five defeats in Euroleague. Injuries cost us now. We made some changes, while some players like Sloukas or Spanoulis are not in the best possible condition today. We have to find a way to improve".
Asked about Spanoulis performance, Bartzokas noted: "The truth is that Vassilis in both games didn't play well. You know how important he is for us. We have to admit that our opponent had a good plan for him. He must become more aggressive. I trust him, but I believe that he has to react".
Finally, Vassilis Kavvadas, noted: "The result was not the one we wanted. This doesn't mean anything. We are still in the middle of the season. We have to see want went wrong in order to improve, keeping our head up".
