The president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation, Vangelis Liolios, spoke about the anticipation that exists for the first official obligations of the Men’s National for the qualifiers of the 2023 World Cup. At the same time, he stressed that it is possible in the next window There are more players in the Greek team than Olympiakos and Panathinaikos (Lountzis, Kavvadas and Kaselakis were called, with the first two already present and Kaselakis joining on Friday). In detail, he spoke:
-For feeling anxious before the first obligations of the Men’s National Team: “I am not anxious, I am proud. It’s a feeling I have never had before. I felt it for the first time in the match of the Women’s National that we gave a few days ago and now I have also started to feel it for the Men’s team. It is not stress, it is pride and joy “.
-For the changes that took place in the Men’s National Team and the arrival of people like Dimos Dikoudis and Nikos Zisis: “I was one of the people responsible for these changes. Whether they are correct or not will be said by the others. At the level of intentions, we receive a positive response from everyone. The road is very long. In this sport a lot is judged by a shot and a rebound. But for me, success or failure is not there. For me it is in the passion, in the mood, in the purity… “.
-For the return of the Men’s National Team to Thessaloniki after many years: “For three decades the National team was absent from Thessaloniki. It was one of the first steps we took to get there. We will go to other cities. The National team belongs to all Greeks. We went to Xanthi with the Women’s National Team and the stadium was boiling. I hope the same happens in Thessaloniki. The children want this sixth player next to them and the people are happy to enjoy the National Team up close “.
-For the presence of Olympiacos and Panathinaikos players in the National team in the World Cup qualifiers: “The national team is above everyone, above clubs or personal ambitions. We had a communication with Olympiakos and Panathinaikos and a very constructive conversation, with a desire for respect and cooperation. It can be an athlete, it can be two. We believe that in the next window it can grow even more. “Basketball and the national team will become the catalyst to unite us all and alleviate the contradictions.”
-the derby between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos for the A1 Men: “I was not in this game, because I was with the National team, which had an excellent and moving event with the children from the academy of Holargos. I preferred to be here. I was able to watch the second half and saw a stadium with fans, because we had time to see something like that. We also had time to watch this derby and also watched a match with an exciting development. Do not expect that everything will change with a magic wand in an instant. The goal is to reach the top, but to get there you need steady steps. We need to be careful, to leave what is toxic and to look forward with optimism. The positive is always more than the negative, as long as you are on the positive side “.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
