The Olympiacos coach blamed luck for the defeat in the Euroleague final against Real Madrid
“No one thought we were going to have such a dominant season in the EuroLeague, but we lacked luck in the last game”
Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas, regretted that “luck” accompanied Real Madrid in the last launches of Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodríguez that gave victory to the white team in the Euroleague final for 78-79.
“This is basketball. It’s very painful. We led on the scoreboard for the vast majority of the game and we controlled the pace, but we missed two or three free throws at the end that were crucial”, analyzed the Greek coach on the court at the Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas .
Asked by Euroleague television, Bartzokas assured that fortune turned its back on them in the last two launches of Real Madrid, which in his opinion were well defended: “Then came Llull’s incredible shot on the buzzer plus the previous one by Chacho, also very difficult. Luck decided the game and it’s very painful for us.”
In the press room, the Olympiacos coach stressed that “Madrid needed to play in the zone for almost the entire game” to defend them, and that their players took “very good decisions”, being able to “move the ball and find open shots”.
“In the last three minutes we had the opportunity to close the game being seven points up, but we missed shots, free throws and made mistakes. The experience they have in the outside game kept them close on the scoreboard and in the end Chacho’s triple and Llull’s well-defended shot came in,” he added.
Bartzokas, despite the defeat, underlined his team’s great season: “I told my players to raise their heads and be proud of how we work, we support each other and the basketball we play throughout the year. Nobody thought we were going to have such a dominant season in the EuroLeague, but we lacked luck in the last game.”.