Papadopoulos: “The children showed character, it was important that they played in their teams”

Kostas Papadopoulos wore a bronze medal for the second time in a row at the conclusion of a Junior Men’s Eurobasket. From the edge of the bench, he saw his team come back, fight until the last minute and get on the podium. He feels proud of his children, for the character they showed, who proved with their presence in Gdynia how valuable time on the floor is during the season.

“It is indeed one of the selection criteria that we had and the participation time that the children had during the year“, emphasizes Papadopoulos and adds: “It is important to have players who have competitive pace. They are better and understand more about what is happening on the floor. We had mistakes during the games, of course, but the guys come to the team and in the preparation having a competitive pace».

Greece reached the semi-finals with wins over two big tournament favourites, Serbia and Lithuania, with a win over Israel, but also two defeats against Poland and France in the group. A France we found again in the race for a place in the final: “With France, we did not enter mentally ready. I think we stayed in the excitement of the great victory over Lithuania. But it is very important on the other hand that we entered the second half with the intention of winning and not simply to reduce. The kids showed character. We said in the locker room that we don’t deserve this image, especially after the hard preparation we had done. In fact, the guys asked me to come out of the locker room just before we went out for the game, they talked to themselves and stubbornly came back out and tried for the upset. It’s very important for me from -30 at half time to come back, to believe in it, to make the effort and not to break down».

But the medal was still waiting. “With Belgium after the match against France we all had a discussion together. We said we don’t deserve to leave here empty handed. The guys came in determined to win. Again we didn’t start well, but I think it was also due to fatigue. We made a lot of mistakes, but again in the end we showed that we wanted it. We made a major turnaround and got the win. We got a medal which I think the kids deserved».

The team got help from the bench, as was done in the previous games. Those who stepped on the floor gave something more, given the absence of the injured Plotas: “All the kids were ready to give everything on the field and that helped us a lot, because especially at the end when we also had the loss of Plotas, a very important player, those who came in could and did fill the gap».

EuroBasket U20 hid surprises and upsets this year, with the favorites not justifying the title awarded to them in most cases: “I don’t think there was really a favorite this year. Some teams stood out, but they could all beat each other, lose to each other and we saw that in action. Falling Turkey was third in the world last year. Serbia were going for a medal and found themselves playing for salvation. Spain was left out of the medals».

The end of the tournament found Greece with the bronze medal and Vangelis Zougris in the best five of the competition. Just as it had happened in the Eurobasket of Crete, a year earlier. “The example of Zougris says one thing: Anyone who has the will and works hard can succeed. Very important is not only his behavior on the field, but also off it. He has a leadership character. Many times he gathered his teammates and motivated them. He has tremendous willpower and oozes tremendous passion. As he plays in the game, he plays in training and that helps the project and ours, because when his teammates see someone who has a leading role training like that, they have to follow».

The National Youth Men’s National Team will be next summer in Heraklion, where the U20 EuroBasket will be held. Six players from those who competed this year, due to their age, have the right to be on the court again next year. Six said goodbye to the “small” national teams. At the same time, the “little ones” who are in Teens this year are also coming:Young Men’s also has a sequel. Age-wise, six players from this team have the right to participate next year in an event that will be hosted again in Crete. We hold dates there and what we want is for people to come and see the kids, who have shown that they give their all every year. With the help of the world we can celebrate one more medal».