Toliopoulos: “Everyone at the beginning of the season did not expect this image of Aris in the EuroCup”

THE Mars will continue his European journey this season, after he managed to get the ticket for the “12” of the EuroCup.

One of the protagonists, Vasilis Toliopoulos. The Greek guard was hosted on EEC WebRadio and talked about the progress of the “yellows” in Europe, about Yannis Kastritisbut also his injury Roberto Gallinat.

In detail, what Vassilis Toliopoulos said:

For their progress in the EuroCup so far: “Certainly everyone at the beginning of the year did not expect us to have this image in the EuroCup, they did not even know if we would win. We were confident in our team, we knew we were working properly and we were good players and we got to the point of claiming 4th place. We managed to compete with teams like Turk, Budusnost, who I think have five times the budget of us. This was the case with most of the teams in our group. We are a team that works on their chemistry and not on how expensive their players are. We have managed to get a very good face in both events».

For now scoring enough points: “At the beginning of the year we said that the team can put up 65 points and win, but then we said that there is a problem in the attack so we said to work a lot on this in training and slowly in the next 2 months it will come out. We have reached the point where the team plays well in attack as well, we have worked quite well with many passes, we “read” all the situations correctly and we are now a very good team in defense, but who can also win from their attack».

For the fact that they manage to win away from home: “It’s another thing to play in “Alexandrio”, it gives you a different momentum, the crowd is there every matchday, the stadium is almost full every matchday. We have worked a lot on our chemistry and everything so that even away from home we are very strong mentally and manage to get the wins we need».

For the team’s coach, Giannis Kastritis: “The coach in the last 3 years that he has been in the team has brought his own philosophy, the whole world has “embraced” him, all the players hold him in high esteem. He has made it his philosophy to keep our “identity”, which is our defense, that everything starts with our toughness and we never give up. He has given this team an “identity” that the world loves very much and I believe that all of Greece likes to see it from Mars».

For the following games against Panathinaikos away (05/02) and against Trento at home (07/02): “The game against Panathinaikos is very difficult, especially at home. We also have a “final” ahead of us for the EuroCup, which we want to win in order to be definitely in 5th place and hopefully in 4th. We have to look at each match individually. We will see what we can gain from each match and how we can be ready in both games to claim the best we can».

On Roberto Gallinat’s injury: “His absence costs a lot, because he is a very good player. He is an excellent kid, who gives everything for the team. It will be a bit strange going without him for the next 2 months, but in these conditions the team is coming together. We will all try together to fill his void and do everything we can so that his absence is not so visible».