Georgios Bartzokas 12
Do Olympiacos know what they want to be?
A trip to Spain in the opening week of Euroleague saw Olympiacos split their two games. A tight win over Baskonia was followed by being outsmarted by Real Madrid. What was lacking was the one thing few expected, an understanding of their own identity. Let’s get the important bit out of the way. This is […]
Panathinaikos and Olympiacos Face a New Reality
After a disappointing trip to Abu Dhabi, both Ergin Ataman’s Panathinaikos and Georgios Bartzokas and Olympiacos face a Greek finals with a different flavour. The best of five series, which starts on Friday, holds more weight than usual. Excluding the seasons where Olympiacos opted out of playing in the Greek League due to its dispute […]
The Coaches Defining the 2025 Euroleague Final Four
The Euroleague Final Four is a showcase for the star players but Abu Dhabi will also feature four great minds of the game. Emmet Ryan on the men that will make the big decisions from the sidelines. It’s time to meet the head coaches: Ergin Ataman (Panathinaikos), Georgios Bartzokas (Olympiacos), Sarunas Jasikevicius (Fenerbahce), and Vassilis […]
What Olympiacos Proved in Beating Real Madrid
It was a classic, a mess, and the height of drama. Yet we learned one important thing as Olympiacos ended the Euroleague season of Real Madrid: Georgios Bartzokas and his side can find a way when it matter It’s rare that a game gets both instant classic and clear hot mess status. The Game 4 […]
Old Demons Fall, New Dreams Rise for Olympiacos
It will be a shock if Olympiacos don’t win their series with Real Madrid. Still, the Euroleague top seeds have a chance to make a statement on the road. Complete the sweep and set the table. Emmet Ryan on the need for the Reds to rise in confidence. The Reds took care of business at […]
Olympiacos impress but questions remain in Euroleague chase
There are different kinds of problems in basketball, or really sport, or actually life in general. These can be divided into bad problems and good problems. Emmet Ryan believes Olympiacos have good problems. Their win over Partizan showed that. In Euroleague, even good problems can cause headaches Despite the sterling efforts of the commentators, Olympiacos […]
Euroleague season preview: Olympiacos return reloaded
BallinEurope is previewing all 18 Euroleague Basketball teams ahead of the start of the season. Today it’s the turn of an Olympiacos side seeking to make yet another trip to the Final Four. Can Georgios Bartzokas bring his team to the ultimate glory? With Sasha Vezenkov back, Evan Fournier arriving to thundering acclaim, and much […]
Olympiacos seek more than redemption at Euroleague Final Four
The narrative will, naturally, be about how Olympiacos lost last year’s Euroleague title game. The reality is about the focus on the now and what the Reds need to take that extra step in Berlin. When your semi-final match-up is a repeat of last year’s title game, minds will naturally wander to the revenge game […]
On Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Giannakopoulos and the Greek League mess
The history books will forever record Panathinaikos as having won game three of the 2012-13 Greek League championship series over Olympiacos by a score of 76-72 to complete a three-game sweep. The reality, as is sadly so often the case in Greens-Reds match, was more complicated. With just under a minute and a half remaining, […]
Considering BallinEurope’s (imaginary) ballot for Euroleague Coach of the Year
BallinEurope doesn’t actually get to vote for Euroleague Coach of the Year, but we can still pretend. And in BiE’s opinion, the question of who should get the honor comes down to three, interestingly enough each in his first season with his current club.
Georgios Bartzokas: “We have to forget the CSKA Moscow game immediately”
Below runs the official EL interview with Olympiacos head coach Georgios Bartzokas going into his team’s championship game against Real Madrid. Certainly a candidate for 2013 Euroleague Coach of the Year honors, Bartzokas had never taken a team past the Top 16 round previous to this season – but one couldn’t discern this from either […]
On Panionios BC and the future of Greek basketball
After defending Euroleague champions Olympiacos took care of business in an 85-81 win over Caja Laboral Baskonia last week, Greece-based media outlet Ekathimerini spun their game wrap under the headline “Greek stars gift Reds opening Euroleague win.” Indeed, last year’s heroes Giorgos Printezis and Vassilis Spanoulis were instrumental in the comeback victory, providing 33 points […]