Last month, Mr Panagiotis Philippakos he made the decision to continue his career in Colombia with its jersey Team Cali, after this year’s transfer from AEK and Apollon Patras!
Speaking on EEC web radio, the 29-year-old forward referred to first impressions of the Latin American country, from the level of the team and the league, but also for the most strange moments experienced there so far.
What Panagiotis Philippakos said in detail:
On how he ended up in Colombia and Team Cali: “It was about a month ago when I was on Apollo. I finished my duties there and returned to Athens. I talked a little with my manager, Giorgos Drakakis, and I told him that I want to go and play somewhere outside of Greece, to combine it with an experience beyond basketball. He told me that the game is currently being played in Latin America, he searched and found this case for me. It really is a great case of a team. At first I rolled my eyes a little and wondered about Colombia, but then I also talked to my friend, Brian Angola, with whom we were teammates at AEK, but also to an American who is 5 seasons in a row in Colombia and that was enough so that I can say “yes” and take the step”.
On the reason he went to Colombia: “The truth is that I wanted it, I put some things down. There are terms in my contract where I have an option to come back in 20 days if something goes wrong, which was also a safety net for both my people and myself in case something went terribly wrong. I’m not married, I don’t have children, I wanted to get away from the routine of Athens. It was a very good opportunity to take advantage of this “gift” that basketball offers me”.
On whether he has regretted his decision: “So far I feel very vindicated and I think that will not change whatever happens next. It is a very homely team, we are talking about an excellent sporting climate, supportive environment. They are all in very good condition. Basketball is not at the level we see in the BCL and the Euroleague. It is a league that is rising, they are bringing in better and better foreigners, some Colombians are at a good level and there is enough competition, it is a very tough league and with many games in a short period of time. It’s something completely different for me and something I wanted to experience. Everything satisfied me, the terms and conditions with which I agreed to come are very favorable and I feel very good that the step was taken”.
On what he thought when he went to Colombia: “I definitely didn’t think about the way of playing in Colombia or anything basketball, I basically got informed about the city. My people, even though I’m 29 years old, I make the important decisions for myself and of course they’ve supported me in everything, they were a little worried, because when you click on the search for the city of Cali, you see that it’s the 4th-5th most dangerous city in the world. It is one of the biggest cartels that currently exist here and the concept of crime is a little different from what we know in Greece, let alone for a European who does not know the region and the language. Things are very different here.”
On his first impressions of the team: “I combine my first image of Cali with the man I’ve been talking to all this time, John Mario, who is the GM, president of the team and the Federation. An excellent guy where he really picked me up, welcomed me, gave me a tour, took care of everything, my mobiles, cards, made sure I didn’t have to worry about anything until I got to the hotel. Things are fine, the people here take care of us, they cover our expenses for taxis, for transport, for everything. Very positive sign so far.”
For his first impressions of the city: “When I saw the situation live here, a lot changed. I had prepared myself for “ugly” things, but once I saw reality I saw how good it is. You always have to keep your eyes open of course, but my opinion on the dangerous part of the city is that anyone who isn’t looking for trouble won’t be in trouble. Certainly the city of Cali is much more impressive in appearance, it created an excitement for me when I saw it, because on YouTube and tourist texts it is a city to avoid. The city, however, is quite modern, it has a lot of life, it has universities, malls, parks, very nice places, huge streets with many restaurants, with bars. It also has the side that it is better not to go, because things are a little more difficult there. The image I had was very positive and it made me interested in getting to know the city more. It’s much better than what I had in mind.”
For the national championship: “It’s a completely different league in the way it’s played, the game schedule and the difficulty. It’s a three-month league, around 16-18 games without play-offs, it’s 2 groups of 10 teams. A team comes for example to Cali, stays for 2-3 days, we play 2 games back-to-back, then there is a gap for a few days and then we go the next week to Medellin for example and the same thing happens. The level of the teams depends a lot on the foreigners, the Colombians alone cannot make the difference. Four foreigners are allowed in each team, but only three of them can play in the five at the same time. We haven’t faced the tough and good teams yet. There are teams that are really very tough, with quite good foreign players, good Colombians, difficult seats. I only have image from games for these teams. In terms of the conditions, the pitch is excellent, the facilities are excellent, it’s like being in a professional team that lacks nothing. Everything is at a very good level and there is also the desire to raise Colombian basketball a lot.”
On the response of basketball in Colombia: “From what I saw, I really didn’t expect so many people at the stadium. I saw children, adults, couples, young children, all ages. They are incredibly involved in the game, they live it 100% and the atmosphere in the stadium is tremendous, which impressed me a lot. Regarding the media, advertisements and television, it is at a very high level, it is a show, they have given it enough basis with events and with advertisements and with sponsors, in general in this whole part of the promotion of the sport. This shows their desire to grow and improve the product.”
For his weirdest stories from Colombia: “Within a week and having promised those I love not to explore the thing as much as I want, I don’t have many stories. There are some… highlights of course, for example going to a bakery, being teased by some employees and being the one with the translation and the whole shop laughing. Also, the day after the America De Cali – Deportivo Cali clasico, which is one of the biggest and most hostile clasicos in the world, I was watching the game from the hotel right next to the stadium and on video then I saw that the police had confiscated around 20-30 guns in each block. And from some others that I read later, we also had knives. I heard some chants after America’s 5-2 win that said “A minute of silence” in Spanish and that stuck with me. The next day in a mini market I saw some strange local people where they looked at me and told me America De Cali’s name and I told them “Of course I am America De Cali, since I was little”. I started telling them this slogan and they started jumping, hugging me, making videos and we were all shouting together. It also has nice scenery.”
Source: Sport Fm
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.
