Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos: 'We're playing great'

Regular Season

Round 24 of 34

game Olympiacos Piraeus vs ALBA Berlin

Regular Season

ALBA BerlinBER

6093

Olympiacos PiraeusOLY

Overview

Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach

"We were solid for three quarters, and also our execution on offense was key for the game. In the second quarter, we had some turnovers, we didn’t protect the ball… they hit in transition. This is a typical pace team. Whenever they find open shots in transition, and when you pull down the rhythm, you can control the pace, and this is the key for the game. Our defense – and of offense, of course – was really solid for three quarters, except the second one. We are happy about this win. I have to mention that today is a big day for Olympiacos, because we lost 20 fans 42 years ago if I remember well. We miss them, and it's a special day for Olympiacos. We need Kostas [Sloukas] to come back because he's a fantastic player, and also Alec Peters is out. We are expecting them back very soon, because next week we have the obligation of the Greek Cup, which is Top 8. We have three games in a row, we need all our staff, all our roster, for those important games.

"First of all, I would like to thank our fans that came here to support us from Greece, from Germany, from wherever. It was important for us to have support from the fans; wherever we play, we have this kind of support and we appreciate it. Secondly, I would like to mention that today is a tragic day for Olympiacos. Forty-two years have passed since the most tragic moment in Olympiacos's history, where we lost 21 people, so we would like to dedicate this win to their memory. About the game, we controlled it through our solid defense for three quarters, especially the third one. If I remember well, we scored 28 and we allowed 10. It was crucial to finish the game the way that we finished. I would like to congratulate the players; they were really serious. I don't underestimate this win, always we have a different time here in Berlin and also in Piraeus playing against ALBA. Last year, we lost easily [against ALBA] and it was important for us to come here and win the game. Good luck to ALBA."

Israel Gonzalez, ALBA Berlin head coach

"Congratulations to Olympiacos, they played a really, really good game. We are with a lack of confidence; the last two games at home have been very bad. We need to think and try to understand why we are playing like this at home and try to do better in the next games.

"Olympiacos are having an amazing season, playing nice basketball, and today we didn’t compete. We didn’t compete against them. The worst thing are the feelings; how the players feel right now, how we feel right now. I have to say thank you to the fans because they have been great during the game, but today we played bad. The feelings that we have are very bad, so we need to recover and do better in the next games. I'm very worried about the last two games, especially at home, because even at Fenerbahce we couldn’t make it a close game. I think we didn’t have a very bad game, but the last two games that we've played here at home have been very bad. Today, I saw things that I don't like: a lot of players with doubts, with no clear ideas about what to do. Probably this is my fault, too, but we have to be all together to solve this situation and to understand that we are not so bad. We need to come here to compete better, even if we are not going to win the EuroLeague."

Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus forward

"Before everything, I want to dedicate this win to the families of the victims that our club [lost as part of the Karaiskakis Stadium disaster] 42 years ago. This win is honored to them and to all of the fans of our clubs. The key [tonight] was the consistency we put in the first and the third quarter, the defensive effort we had… we kept ALBA to 60 points, even though we didn’t play 40 minutes of the same energy level on defense. I'm really happy, because we won one more game, and now we have to keep going because the EuroLeague is really tough. We won in this tough gym against a really talented team, and I'm really happy about it."

Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus guard

"We're playing great basketball, but we're definitely not complacent. It's about consistency, and that's what we've done over the last six games. It's not about how many in a row or anything, it's just about the next one and showing up each and every day and getting better at practice. We're excited to be winning games, but definitely not complacent and we can't keep looking behind us; it's always about the next one and the next one and the next one."

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