Tsartsaris: “Spanoulis has basketball in his blood – He has the will, he has ambitions and he wants to succeed”

For National basketball team of Greecebut also about all the burning issues of the “blue and white” ahead of the Pre-Olympic tournament, spoke Kostas Tsartsaris on the EEC web radio.

The 44-year-old former basketball player who is now in charge of the development program of the EEC, referred both to the new coach of our national team, Vasilis Spanoulis, as well as the hosting of the pre-Olympic tournament by our country.

His statements in detail:



For the hosting of the Pre-Olympic Tournament by Greece: “First of all, it’s a very difficult tournament. A few days, excellent teams, but also unknown teams, from different basketball schools. You don’t have time to think or prepare for the next game, so the work has to be done beforehand. What we have to look at is ourselves. First of all, which players will come, what will the roster be and, from there, a plan should be drawn up by the coaching team and Vassilis Spanoulis regarding how we will deal with the teams. What is happening in Greece is very positive, it is always good to play in your country. It is an advantage, but it is not a guarantee that the ticket will come to hand.”



For the roster of the National Team in the Pre-Olympics: “The period of time that is happening is not easy. Not only does the NBA end very slowly and we don’t know how far Giannis will go, but also the European championships end somewhere there. A lot can happen until then. It is good to just wait, to hope that the children will be healthy and have the will to follow first of all.”



For the coach of the Men’s National Team, Vassilis Spanoulis: “Vasilis has basketball in his blood. It may sound cliché, but it’s the truth. I haven’t heard him talk about anything other than basketball. He is a man who understands the sport very well, he has the will, he has ambitions and he wants to succeed in this as well. This qualification of Vassilis is what brought him so high, that he was very ambitious and really wanted to “pierce” his ceiling. And that’s what he will do as a coach.”



For the lost 2006 World Cup final: “To be fair, that generation of Spaniards was one of the best that has passed through the European, but also world, stadiums. Of course, the fact that we beat the undisputed favorite, the USA, that Pau Gasol did not play and that we were expecting Argentina instead of Spain in the final played a role. What I’m saying is that at least we could have been more combative on the field and not have the difference we had at the end.”

For this year’s EuroLeague: “It’s very charming what the decision-makers have… concocted. Every week we see impressive games, they keep our interest undiminished until the end. This system also gives an “alothi” and… sorry if you lose out of schedule, you have time to fix it. We are talking about a “marathon” anymore and not a simple tournament”.

Regarding the fact that Panathinaikos has lost matches decided in the final: “The main problem is that it is a new team, with many new players and they need to find their role a bit, to understand what needs to be done in the last phases. They will find this along the way. There are players with personality in this year’s Panathinaikos, where such phases can end, it just takes a little patience. As we always say, everything goes in and everything comes out, and that’s the beauty of basketball.”