Takianos: “Greek basketball should be proud of the progress of the teams in the BCL”

THE PAOK he stayed alive in the hunt for qualification to his ’16’ BCLmaking a big “double” in Bursa with a score of 88-87 and sending the series with her Tofa in the third and last game at “Palataki”.

THE Fotis Takianos hosted at EOK Web Radio and spoke about the episodic matches of the “two-headed team of the north” with the Turkish team, while also referring to the course of the Greek teams in the competition in general, stressing that we should all be proud.

In detail what he said:

For the victory in Bursa over Tofa and the tying of the series at 1-1: “Many times a big defeat like the one we had in the first game can play the role of motivation for the next match. For us it was a “do or die” game, while for Tofas it was not. Also, we competed with five foreigners, while Tofas with seven. So the victory and the reaction of the players against something that we knew would be like this, that we will play away from home with a team that will have two more foreigners, which in the first game showed a special dynamic, is of particular importance. It was very important that the players reacted under these conditions. It was a process of reaction both in competition and out of competition. We all thought together that our course up until then did not justify and did not deserve a performance and a result like in the first match. It was a bad game, a parenthesis, we explained the reasons, discussed and found the courage and strength to go and fight. For 50′ the team fought for every ball and in every possession. Even if we didn’t win, our image was excellent in terms of the dedication we gave on the court.”

On the “heavy” loss in Game 1 of the series: “In the first game it was a process of various circumstances, mainly extra-competitive, where our team found itself in a process that became disorganized, lost its concentration. We are a group that with its daily life, hard work, proper preparation and playing as a team tries to survive through the difficulties. Second, the team didn’t show up on the field in terms of being ready to stop things that Tofas, who had a very good offensive day, showed. All this contributed to a defeat by a large margin and the appearance being a question mark as to how we will recover”.

For the 3rd and last game of the series with Tofas: “It’s a completely different game than the previous two, because it’s a ‘final’. For us, of course, the second match was also a “final”. It is a game that, yes, is at home, but against a team that has a very deep roster and plays with seven very high-quality foreigners. He also added Denmon of late, who appeared in the last ten days and immediately became the star of the team. It will be a match against a very good opponent. The fact that we won in Turkey does not mean that we are favorites in the third match because we are playing at home. We will be called favorites after every second of the game with our performance.”

For the support of the people in Bursa: “PAOK fans are intertwined with the team and vice versa, regardless of the people who hold the key positions in the organization. In the game with Tofas something amazing happened. The fans of the team came in vans to Bursa to support us. In a packed stadium, very hostile, but in a very sporting context, they were behind our bench and encouraged us every second of the game. These guys are to be congratulated for traveling, seeing the game and coming back. Who made such a long and tiring journey because of their love for the team. Their support was amazing.”

For Game 3 attendance: “In the first match against Tofas, people who have lived PAOK for many years, said that maybe it was the match with the largest attendance of fans, in terms of European games. What we expect in the third race is self-evident. There can be no appeal from me for the fans to help PAOK, because this exists in their own mind and soul. We hope that the world will be with us and I am sure that they will be. Everyone understands the importance of the match. Also, the image and fighting spirit of the team in the second game will bring people to the stadium again to support the team. Players have stated this many times that it gives them extra power. We hope, as in the first game, that everything will move in a sporting context and that we will play a match in which everyone will participate, players, coaches and the public.”

For the upcoming (13/01) away league match with Peristeri bwin: “It’s a very difficult game and the strength and progress of the opponent makes it difficult. Many factors play a role here, fatigue, commitment to the goal, the journey, the roster. A management must be done in such a way as to smooth out all this as much as possible. The aim is to continue the good performance from the game in Turkey. Our goal is to go down and win.”

For the course of the Greek teams in the Basketball Champions League: “Greek basketball in general should be proud of what AEK, Prometheus, Peristeri and PAOK are doing. They have made a strong presence in the European stadiums, with great victories. We must be proud of Greek basketball.”