Spanoulis: “We are hungry – Basketball is in the blood and culture of the Greek”

The Pigeon bwin preparing for his Final Four Basketball Champions League in the three-day period 26-28 April and on Friday (26/04, 19:00) it will face the Tenerife in the semi-final of the event.

At the media day the coach of the Western Suburbs team, Vasilis Spanoulissaid that his team is hungry and ready for the game against the Spaniards, while regarding the successes of the Greek clubs, he said that basketball is in the blood and culture of the Greek.

In detail, what Vassilis Spanoulis mentioned:

“This journey has bonded us as a team, it’s bonded us as a team, it’s built our chemistry and now we’re getting ready for this Final Four, let’s go play two really good games».

Because Peristeri bwin is the only Greek team among three Spanish ones: “As I said after the OAKA game against Panathinaikos, it is a huge success for Greek basketball to have two teams in the EuroLeague playoffs with the prospect of going to the Final Four and one team to the Final Four of the BCL. And we had another team in the playoffs, Prometheus.

We see that Greek basketball is high, not only Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, but also other teams and this is very important. Basketball is in the blood and in the culture of the Greek and I am very happy, as a Greek and as a person of basketball, that I see Greek teams progressing and being in the elite of European basketball».

For the three wins in the Top-16: “Relationships, chemistry, and confidence are built throughout the year, and throughout the year there are situations to manage. I think this is the most difficult and the most important thing for a team and for a coach.

The management of various situations, positive or negative. We managed these situations brilliantly, we never gave up, we showed confidence. We had a mentality that we refused to give up and lose. Through this painful process we managed to bond a lot as a team, believe in ourselves more and manage to be in the Final Four right now».

On playing Tenerife again: “The teams know each other. We know what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are. They also know us well. Games in the Final Four are different games. We want to be ready mentally and physically to handle a Final Four semifinal and I believe we will be ready».

For opponents’ boxes that have been erased in the locker room: “It’s something that we agreed with the guys and set as a goal, hopefully we can erase more».

For Tenerife: “Tenerife is an experienced team. I think it’s the fifth Final Four in the BCL. He has had the same coach for many years, they know how to play together. They are very experienced, they have a long average age, they know from such situations. On the other hand, we are a team that is hungry. We only have Joe (sr. Ragland) who has played a BCL Final Four. We have other experienced guys, but for many it is the first time. This has both positives and negatives. We will keep the motivation and the thirst».

For the four-four with Huertas: “Certainly Marcelinho is a player I respect a lot. He is a player we have played against many times. He is a player who has had a great career and there is only respect for him, for what he is doing at his age. I think he is one of the few players in the history of European basketball who plays at such a high intensity at his age and that says a lot about his character and the way he sees basketball. We hope to limit him as much as we can. You can limit such players, not stop them completely».