Kamberidis: “Let’s play as hard as the New Zealanders”

The partner of Dimitris Itoudis on the bench of the Men’s National Team, Savvas Kamperidisanalyzed the New Zealandopponent of the Greek team today for the World Cup (15:40). As he pointed out, it is of great importance for the Greek team to respond to the tough game of the Tall Blacks in the same way in defense and at the same time to play quickly in attack,

“The first and foremost characteristic of New Zealand is the toughness with which they play. For us it is very important to be able to match this energy and be aggressive without being influenced by the way the opponents play. They are a team that plays at a fast pace, they try to attack the basket vertically, so it is important that we play good one-on-one defense and that the whole team is able to support the ball.

Through penetrations and pick-and-rolls they try to create spot up shots, in which they are quite reliable, that’s why we should be pressing on the ball and at the same time close out as a team. Rebound control will be key to the game as New Zealand push hard on the offensive rebound with two or even three players on each possession.

In terms of our offense, we should try to run at every opportunity and then quickly get the ball out of our hands in the build-up in order to create imbalances as they are very aggressive in their defense, pick and rolls and to their aid.

Beyond the tactical part, we repeat that the energy, combativeness and passion that we will show for every possession and every contested ball is of great importance.”