Lefteris Mantzoukas was the main protagonist in the victory of the national youth team against Slovenia with 90-79 in the context of friendly preparations ahead of the EuroBasket of Heraklion. The talented forward of Panathinaikos scored 31 points.
After the match, he spoke about the chemistry of the national team, while emphasizing that the main goal is to add intensity to the game, while underlining that their mentality is what is required.
The statements in detail:
“It is a given that we are more and more on the field as the days go by. We’re finding our groove, we’re a new group that’s only been training together for a week, and we want to hit the floor as well as possible. Because we know we can do better. With many children we have been in previous national teams, with Bazina we have been together for years and as the days pass we will all get better”.
For the image ahead of the Crete tournament: “What we want to bring out is passion. To be 100% there in every game, in every defense, in every possession, because many teams in the competition will have more “size” than us. It is a point where we may be lagging behind. But still I think we have the character needed for these competitions. We will be very good, I believe, let’s all be strong and we will be fine, because we have the right mentality”.
For the benefit of friendly: “Yes, for sure every time we enter the field we want to win. But the role of friendlies is to find our footing as a team. Let the coach see the plays that suit us and can help us more. They are good workouts. It is not something else. In our program we really have strong preparation matches and this will only do us good, to compete with strong teams. It will help us find our automatisms and bond better as the new team that we are.”.
On his role as leader: “I don’t even stand in the captaincy. I’m here to do whatever I can to help the team. Whatever is asked of me. I feel really happy to be here with most of the guys we know each other and we are very good friends and the atmosphere is very good. We want this to last until the end and to build on these foundations, for a health to come out. I want to help in this, to become better, because lies are bad, we want the best in the event, which is also hosted in our country”.
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.
