Barcelona basketball players defeated Olympiakos twice this season in the Euroleague, but all that is forgotten and erased before tonight (21) the start of the quarterfinals of the series.
The "red and white" from Athens finished the regular season in style - they won 10 of the last 11 games and finished the season in fifth place, with the same score as the fourth-placed "Blaugrana" (22-12).
The coach of Olympiakos and the former head of the coaching staff of Barcelona, Jorgos Barcokas, will not be able to count on Kostas Papanikolaou tonight, while Tomas Vokap will be in the squad, who left the last training session in Athens before going to Barcelona due to back pain. But Nikola Milutinov, who missed part of the season due to injury, will be a big boost for Piraeus.
"We are focused only on the first game, we are not thinking about the complete series. Papanikolaou had a high temperature and will have to miss this game. The absence of every player is important for Olympiakos, just as the presence of a basketball player is important for the team. We have to play a good match , the players have to be efficient. If we control the match, then we have a great chance to win," believes Barcokas.
Barcokas' trump card will be Tomas Vokap.
"The defense must be at the level, we must not allow them to run. If we prevent them from doing that, then we have done a great job. They are a talented team, they have been playing together for years. Papanikolau's absence is significant. He is our leader. In his absence, some players they have to provide more, we have to play as a team, to cover his absence," said Thomas Walkup.
In the regular season, Barcelona lost only to Monaco and Olimpia Milan.
"We played well in our stadium this season. It was those games that gave us the home field advantage in the playoffs. I hope we will be able to use that in this series. Olympiakos is a team with great players. They have patience in attack, until the last seconds are looking for the best option," said Barcelona coach Roger Grimau.
The winner of this series plays against Real or Baskonia in the final four.
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