Kastritis: “We made an extra effort for a quarter and a half”

Yiannis Kastritis emphasized that Aris returned after the break of the league and focused on the fact that he did not have people for the training sessions of the week and that this was seen in the second half, he found a lack of physical condition, he stood in good defense during this period where they got difference, analyzed the injury problems facing some of his players, spoke about the presence of Bloombergs and the mistakes of the second half, while he does not know what has happened with Bankston’s injury.

Analytically: “It was the first day off we’ve actually had for Europe in several months. Today, we played our first game after the break, which we thought would be a good opportunity to work and ‘freshen up’ the squad. Unfortunately, however, for another two days our trainings were with eight people, we had to manage, in addition to our injured, several issues with illnesses in the last few days.

I think that fact was quite evident throughout the first half. In the second half, however, and for a quarter and a half, the children made an extra effort. It was obvious that they were running out of energy, they were not in good physical condition due to the problems we faced. But, in defense we were at the level we want, we put our hands in, we pressed and we ‘built’ a good difference. We ‘built’ confidence and found some phases and shots in attack and I rightly think we won the game in the end”.

On whether anything changed in player management in today’s match: “I can’t say we had the luxury of choosing exactly the rotation we would have liked. Without exaggeration, our combat-ready players today were no more than 6-7. I don’t even put Sanogo in the ready, who is coming off an injury, Stark was sick for two or three days and was out of breath.

But, everyone made an extra effort and a step forward, ‘building’ a good gap in the second half. I think we did very well and in our times, nobody escaped and I believe that in the match against Cluj we will be better in this part”.

On Bloomberg’s presence: “You know I don’t like to talk about players individually. We may be wronging some others. The truth is that we missed Bloomberg the whole time he was away. He has some very key characteristics especially for the offensive part, namely the long shot from the ‘4’ position plus the fact that he has size and can help us a lot in defense, but also in rebounds.

Apart from that, quantitatively he is another player in the team’s rotation that we haven’t had for so long. Of course we miss all the kids and Katsivelis, but also when Bohorides was injured, we missed each of them in different areas of the game. We are an ensemble team, a team that supports a lot in training and when we can’t train as we all want together then we don’t feel satisfied. That is where the soul and heart of all present enter and, thus, together we have managed to reach the point where we are at this moment”.

On reducing mistakes in the second half: “I think it was the mental approach that showed in all areas of the game. It was clear that in the first half we were out of rhythm, everything is experience. We have to learn and when we don’t feel good about approaching games in the right way, the 14 mistakes in the first half are representative of what we say, but so is just the four we made in the second half.

From quarter to quarter we learn and manage emotions, fatigue, bad day we may have. The important thing is that we come out of it wiser and better.”

On Bankston’s injury: “Honestly, I don’t know anything. The update I got at game time was that if needed he can come back and play but he won’t be at 100%. So, we chose not to risk it, seeing the course the game had. We will see what tests are needed tomorrow in order to have a clearer picture.”