Panathinaikos AKTOR, led by Olek Balcherovski and excellent Alexandros Samonturov, defeated Aris with a score of 80-68 in “Alexandreio”, before the first round of the championship playoffs with PAOK.
After the match, Yannis Kastritis he focused on the fact that his team had to play for 23 whole days due to the suspension of the league, while he congratulated his players, but also the Panathinaikos ACTOR for the qualification to Euroleague Final Four.
In detail what he said:
“There is no verbal episode with De Souza. We are 23 days idle. The children put in a tremendous effort all this time and I congratulate them. All in all, it’s hard to stay active. We demand 200% from ourselves and if sometimes it has to do with them giving something more, it has to do with me pushing them to give more. I want to congratulate Panathinaikos for the victory and the qualification to the Final 4, as well as Olympiacos”.
Later, at the press conference, he said:
“Congratulations in principle to Panathinaikos, it was clear in crucial parts that they had a better pace than us, to claim the balls, when it seemed to close the match. He brought out great quality in the simple part, when needed he put some frees, we more misplaced than usual. When under normal conditions our team is on pace, the 23 days cost us and before the break we were not at our best.
It cost us the 23 days of abstinence, although we weren’t in the best possible shape even then. Congratulations to our players because during this time they showed a very positive, motivated image in training. They worked very hard and I thank them.
We also had the extraordinary absences (including Katsivelis, Stark) and a difficult task against PAO. The request is to show up ready on Friday for the matches with Prometheus. Congratulations to Panathinaikos and Olympiakos for entering the Final Four”.
On the episode between De Souza and Bohorides in the third period on the bench: “We rely a lot on emotion, we live the whole year very intensely. We get angry when we lose, we get irritated, but we are always there. Everyone wants to be in the best shape, everyone wants to play and they are under pressure. A tension emerges, a noble rivalry. I’m glad that the children express their feelings and are not cold.”
For the 23-day absence from competitive action: “After 7 months of intense effort, having teams be inactive for so long takes a toll both mentally and physically. But also in the interest of the world. A friend of Ari’s asked me one day ”are you still training? Isn’t the championship over?” We shouldn’t point fingers, it was a difficult time, everyone wants the best for the teams and the league. I am sure that all those in charge will do what they must so that next year everything will be better.”
For the Prometheus games: “We have seen all the previous games with Prometheus, he is not in the same situation as us. Something we forget, they are not excuses but I have to say them to respect the effort. After March 5th when we lost the match against Prometheus and had no hopes for 4th place, all our other games were indifferent, for 2.5 months. The children respond, personally I have not managed such a situation, the best thing we have to do is to give our best. Whether this will be enough remains to be seen. For us, the most important thing is to give 100%.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
