Olympiacos head coach Georgios Bartzokas held his team's first full roster training session on Thursday, September 3, before departing for a pre-season friendly tournament in Crete.
The Greek club welcomed back its international players on Thursday as the squad prepared to travel to Heraklion for the IBT Crete tournament, which takes place from September 4 to September 6.
Speaking to the official club website olympiacosbc.org prior to departure, Bartzokas said he was very pleased with the composition of his squad despite a number of offseason roster reshuffles. He noted that while several players had departed and new signings had arrived, the fundamental goal for Olympiacos remained unchanged: to compete consistently at the highest level and improve every single day.
Olympiacos Basketball Club, based in Piraeus and known as the Red-and-Whites, is one of the most prominent teams in European basketball. The club competes in both the Greek Basketball League and the EuroLeague, the top-tier continental competition. Bartzokas, an experienced Greek head coach, has managed the team through multiple domestic and European campaigns.
Roster changes and pre-season schedule
Bartzokas acknowledged that conducting the first full team session on the day of travel was late in the pre-season calendar. However, he explained that late squad assembly is now a standard condition in European basketball due to players representing their national teams during summer international fixtures.
The head coach highlighted that international players rejoined the group without any injuries, which he described as a major positive given that many rival clubs routinely suffer injury setbacks during international duty. He added that squad members who had been in training for the preceding ten days were already performing at a strong level.
Preparation time has been further compressed because the first official trophy of the season is scheduled earlier than ever before. Olympiacos will compete in the EuroLeague Super Cup on September 18 and September 19, prompting the coaching staff to fast-track tactical instructions for new additions.
Bartzokas said the team does not have the luxury of picking and choosing their priorities. With no time available for scheduled days off, player recovery and rest will be integrated directly into training sessions in close coordination with the medical and physical conditioning staff.
Addressing the challenge of preparing for an expanding calendar with shorter training periods, Bartzokas remarked that basketball is evolving toward longer seasons with increased commitments. He explained that reduced preparation time deprives coaches of a key tool needed to build team chemistry, meaning early season performances may occur under sub-optimal conditions.
Tournament in Crete
Looking ahead to the upcoming exhibition games in Heraklion, Bartzokas expressed great satisfaction at returning to Crete, calling the island a hospitable venue for the club. Olympiacos has competed in Crete on numerous occasions in recent years, playing in friendly tournaments while both winning and losing competitive titles on the island.
He described the IBT Crete event as one of the finest pre-season tournaments in Europe, emphasizing that the presence of four EuroLeague teams guarantees a very high level of organization and competition. He added that the squad could not ask for a better environment in which to test themselves.
Heraklion is the largest city and administrative capital of Crete, the largest of the Greek islands. Located on the island's northern coast, the city features major sports facilities that frequently host international basketball friendlies and official tournament fixtures.
Olympiacos will begin their participation in the IBT Crete tournament on September 4, using the three-day exhibition schedule to integrate their returning international players and new signings before the EuroLeague Super Cup on September 18 and September 19.
