Spanoulis: “We are at a very good level, everyone has understood their roles”

The National team had a… relaxed night, defeating Egypt 93-71 in the packed SEF and formally securing first place in the second group of the Pre-Olympic Tournament.

After the match, Vasilis Spanoulis spoke about the conclusions he has drawn from the first two matches, about the world, about the absence of Giannis, but also about the upcoming semi-final with Slovenia (07/06, 17:30).

His statements in detail:

For the match: “It was another important test for us. We had to be serious. We started seriously, we didn’t have a good second quarter. It was the best thing that could have happened to us to fix some things that needed to be fixed. The kids reacted, they wanted it too much. We played very well for three periods. We’ll use the seven good periods and the one bad period we had in those two games to prepare as well as possible for Saturday.”.

For John’s absence: “The team has an identity, even though we have trained very little together. Everyone thinks we’ve done 8-9 training sessions but we’ve done four. We have a cohesion, a team spirit, a great atmosphere which helps us to play in this way in the game”

To display the group: “We are at a very good level, the players have understood their roles, they have understood our philosophy, they have understood what we have to do to win. You can’t always play well. If I remember correctly, when we were getting the medals, there were tournaments where we didn’t play well but we played well in certain matches. So we have to be a team that will be winners, that will have the way to win and mentally strong in the moments when we will not be so good.”

For the match against Slovenia: “We expect a tight game. Everything starts with Doncic and there is also Nimbo and Prepelic who scores. They also have players who give everything”.

For the world: “We all play together for the good of our country. I see a lot of kids and it’s not a sports thing, it’s a general thing. They come to see their idols up close”.

For the former players of the national team who are “present” on the field: “It is important to have these legends of world basketball by our side. We are all together to qualify for the Olympic Games.”