Kastritis: “We managed properly and showed that we can be competitive”

Yannis Kastritis emphasized that the quality of Turk Telecom is great, he praised the defensive tactics of the Aris players in the third period, he gave a signal for the match with Lavrio next weekend, he did not want to dwell on Stark’s performance and referred to the injuries and on the possibility of Sanogo’s comeback.

In detail: “It is a very important victory for us, as, after all, every victory in the EuroCup. We all know the quality of the opponent we faced, since in the last period he had important victories. For us, it was very important, after the interruption of the Greek league, to come here and prove that we can be competitive to the right degree.

We have to congratulate our players for the effort they put in, I believe that especially in the third quarter we had a correct defensive strategy and good attacking options. This fact helped us to get a difference in our favor in the score, which we managed until the end of the game.

From now on, we only look at the next very difficult game ahead of us against Lavrio. We must remain humble and continue the hard work. I wish the best to Turk Telecom”.

On Starc’s impressions of tonight’s first game: “There’s no way we can bring a player into the team if we don’t believe in his ability and if we don’t know he’s going to be a piece of the puzzle that will help us. We have said it several times, we know exactly what Stark can bring to the team, I will say that it is good not to dwell on someone’s personal performance.

Obviously, his performance and assists were important if one looks at the points, but that’s not the first thing we want from the play makers we have. It was great teamwork today from all the guys for a new player like Starc, to come in and play at this level you understand it’s not easy. He needs the help and support of the whole team and all the kids talked to him today and were with him.

In general, today I am very happy because we are even more focused together in the difficult moments of the game and we showed determination for the victory”.

On Sanogo’s absence and the possibility of his return ahead of the match in Lavrio: “I think we have enough tall players who can play. We have three guys in the ‘five’ position, Bloombergs is back after his injury, Persedis is playing in the ‘four’, Harrell has held the ‘four’ position by himself all this time.

I don’t think that we are few, but at the same time, I think that every player who returns from injury is extremely valuable for us, whether we are talking about Sanogo, or Katsivelis, who is a huge absence for us, or even about Kalogiros who is pivotal for us even in training.

So far, we’ve never played a full game, that’s the truth. I think Sanogo is close to a comeback. Returning to Greece and seeing him on the field and in training, we will be able to say more.”