Kastritis: “Valencia is at Euroleague level – We hope to have DeJulius’ replacement quickly”

Aris continues its obligations in the Eurocup with a very difficult match. His team Yannis Kastritis hosts at “Alexandrio” the Valencia (06/11, 20:00, NovaSports Prime) for the 7th matchday of the competition, aiming to continue the recent positive results.

In view of this confrontation, Mr Yannis Kastritis talked about what his team will need to do to look competitive against a strong opponent, referred to his replacement David DeJulius who goes to Maccabi, while he emphasized that the “yellows” are united and will improve over time.

In detail what he said:

“Our opponent tomorrow is one of the favorites of the tournament. This is a team that, in terms of staffing, roster and also in the way it plays, is very close to the level of the Euroleague. They have a very deep roster and experienced guys. It is certainly a big challenge for us and we already have a lot to gain regardless of the final result. We have a lot of problems to deal with, in the last few days DeJulius left and Noley’s injury. In any case, as we always do especially in front of our world, we will have to give 100% and see what best we can claim.”

On how DeJulius’ void can be filled:

“Obviously we are in the market and we hope very quickly to have his replacement. We have always had enormous faith in the team, in our system and in the children who are already here. Once we find the right player to replace DeJulius and he will come, let’s train and we’ll all be together. We have no concerns, we are sure that our year will continue and progress exactly as it should.”

On how ready the team is to make a breakthrough:

“We all know the size of Valencia and the objective difficulties we have to face in tomorrow’s game. For us, the question is to look at ourselves, to be at the level we should be and certainly the best version of ourselves both individually and as a team. We have to keep improving and show that we’re winning things like we’ve been doing for the last 2-3 weeks.”

On what kept the team together:

“For us, nothing unreasonable was happening. We knew the problems we had but also that we had not prepared. We have said that the team will be ready in December. When you know who you are and how you work in the field then you have the first step to keep everyone together. The guys did just that, they continued to work hard and we were just waiting to see that translate into results. I still expect a lot of ups and downs in the season and the point is to improve and win things.”

On how Aris can stop Valencia offensively:

“Valencia play at a very high pace, they run a lot, they shoot a lot. In these cases we have nothing to lose, on the contrary it is an opportunity to compete against a very high level team. Our philosophy does not change, the game starts 0-0, we are at home. We want to give 100% and from there on it also depends on the opponent at what level they will be and what we can claim from the game”.

On whether the loss of DeJulios and Noley will set the team back:

“It is normal to be behind in this whole process. Even now we’re into November and we’ve played quite a few games. We, regardless of the degree of preparedness we have, must be able to claim victories, as we have proven we can do it. Now we know the kids very well and the new players have understood where they are and what we ask of them. So I see it as a daily process where we improve, become better and ask more from ourselves and from the team.”