Sasha Vezenkov’s walk-off EuroLeague regular season MVP was the first European trophy of the year for Olympicbut behind the glow of this individual distinction stands out the great goal of the year, which is none other than the conquest of Euroleague!
The “red and white” are invited to take the first step of what remains for the top date of the year in the final four of the OAKA tonight (21.00) in the crowded and hot SEF, against the struggling Monacowho came to Greece to fight for one more miracle. Immersed in a sea of huge financial problems, which initially cost the departure of Vassilis Spanoulis, last year’s finalist of the EuroLeague made a breakthrough by qualifying for the playoffs and aspires to take the next step, even though it got this far with only 7-8 ready-to-fight players in the most critical period of the regular season.
“There is a prevailing atmosphere that Monaco has a reduced roster. It’s almost the same team that went to the final last year. They are a capable team, they have personality, they play hard in defense and we should not think that Olympiacos will clear the series easily. It will take a lot of effort to be in a common position”, said Giorgos Bartzokas, with an obvious desire to keep the bar stable and without distortions: “I don’t believe that Monaco does not suit us. Everyone can believe what they want. I tend to say that the team that finishes first has something better than the others. There will be 3-5 games, which will be difficult. We have to believe in our team. We have shown stability, we are happy to have the whole roster”.
So great is the thirst of Olympiakos fans for tonight’s first game with the principality team that the management of the “red whites” issued a statement to protect those who attempt to buy a ticket from various internet resale platforms. As he emphasizes, this specific procedure is illegal and entails not only a ban on entering the stadium, but also serious criminal penalties. The only action allowed is the free transfer of a season ticket, up to two (2) hours before the start of the matches.
• In addition to the two games of Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, today there will also be the match Fenerbahce – Zalgiris Kaunas, with jamball at 20.45. The fourth (first) playoff game (Real Madrid – Hapoel Tel Aviv) will be played tomorrow.
