Bartzokas: Bayern Munich rotaison will be small due to absence

On the media day in view of the encounter with Bayern Munich at the SEF, for the 20th Euroleague competition (10/01/2025, 21:15), his coach, spoke about the particularities of the race and the absences of Kostas Papanikolaou and Evan Fournier who will be invited to manage the team. In his original position, Olympiacos coach, George Bartzokas, said: “He has a great degree of difficulty playing against a very good, aggressive team, with scoring yards that direct the game to a large score. Unfortunately we are in a timing that two of our major players, Fournier and Papanikolau, will not play tomorrow because they have the flu. CORVERSE So the rotation will be smaller. Plus some minor injury problems that I don’t think will be made absent. So it’s a game that has difficulty, maybe in the mind ours a little more than everyone else thinks. Bayern is proving this year that her course is stable, not a straight star. It is consistent, it plays very well, especially within its field, but also outside, it has made significant victories. I think it is a game demanding for us and we need to be ready each of us to fulfill its role to win.” Asked whether Olympiacos has reached his ceiling: “I don’t agree with this, what a ceiling means. We have made great victories, we come from a streak of four positive results. If anyone thinks the way we won in Milan or Kaunas was easy, he’s wrong. Perhaps this view prevails because we have not won a home with 20 points difference in the league, but the score shows that we are on a good track and a good level. CORVERSE Olympiacos has a better record than last year, so I disagree with it. In EuroLeague you can win by 30 points, but you can also lose by 30 points. That’s what the event is like. We have a lot of in-out players. We started with four tall men and stayed with one at some point. I am pleased with our course.” Vildosa: “Stay faithful to our principles” For his part, Luka Vildosa said: “It will be a difficult game. I think they’re a really good team. He’s in good shape even if they lost to Real in the last game. They’ll come here and try to beat us. We have to be ready. We are also playing at our headquarters and must be one of our fortresses.” Asked whether defense is “key” against a talented team aggressively, like Bayern, he stressed that: “Yes, we have to keep an eye on everyone. Edwards is doing a great season, but also Booker. Plus, we have a very talented team, and we need to take advantage of that. Be ready to get the victory.”