Cancellieri: “Olympiakos and Panathinaikos have ‘something’ for the Final Four – Now the season begins, as Ataman said”

One day before the game between Panathinaikos and PAOK (05/01, 17:15) for Stoiximan GBL, the Massimo Cancellieri he was hosted by NOVA and talked about the course of the two “eternals” in this year’s Euroleague, but also his team’s game with the “greens”.

His statements to NOVA in detail:

On his recent dream season rant: “Until the game against Panathinaikos, we continue to dream… Now we have a difficult match ahead of us. In the first round game, we came close to winning. Let’s say we were competitive, which for us was very important, because it was only the second league game. We had to prove and show something. We showed competitiveness and it was important for us to gain trust. We lost, but to be competitive against such a team was important for us. As coach Ataman said recently, now the season really starts and I think now Panathinaikos will appear with more intensity. We will have to prove that we can be competitive again.”

For the secret to dealing with a team of this level: “If there’s a secret, I’m not going to tell you… If there’s a secret, it’s to play without fear, with a lot of respect and try to be competitive. For us, basically, there’s no pressure at all when we face teams like that, so when you get a shot, you can put it in more easily. When I was on the other side, in my years as an assistant at Armani Milan, it was a surprise that the opponents could play at such a good level. It happens in the league and we will try. It will also depend on how Panathinaikos will bring out their intensity and potential for 40 minutes. If he does that, few teams in Europe, not just us, can match him.”

On the team’s goals since taking over: “Nothing has changed since the beginning of August when I was in Thessaloniki. One of our biggest strengths is that we try to live day by day, week by week, game by game. And that’s what we have to do. We cannot look too far, not even into the past. At the moment, we have some good results, but we are not starting from there. We quickly erase from our minds what happened before. The only goal is the next game for me and the team and that is important. They learned how to do that and we continue to think game by game.”

For the level of the Greek league: “To be very honest, the level I met is higher than I expected. I had never worked here, I had only watched some teams, mainly for Euroleague and BCL. When I came here and the games started, I understood that the level is high. There are a lot of players I have faced before, especially in France, which statistics say is one of the biggest leagues in Europe. Finding several players I faced there rang a bell for me. That it is difficult here! The coaches are prepared, the teams are very good tactically. You have to be smart and very adaptable. You can’t play every 40 minutes the same way. If you do, you seriously risk losing, even if you are better. For us, it is a big challenge. But I have a very good staff and a team that follows. So so far, things are going really well.”

A prediction for whether Olympiacos and Panathinaikos will be in this year’s Euroleague Final Four: “If I were Nostradamus I would have the possibility to do another job than being a basketball coach! From what I have seen on the pitch, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are too close to be the favourites. The Euroleague system makes things unpredictable. Sometimes, big teams can lose to last or penultimate teams. There are many games and the players, naturally, cannot always be ready. But from what I’ve seen, facing the two and watching a lot of games, I think they have that “something” that can take them to the Final Four. For different reasons, they are different teams, but they are built with that logic and they have very good players. Both have top-level players.”

For the other two teams except the Greeks for the Final Four: “It’s difficult, because at least on paper, they should be there, like Barcelona and Real, but now they’re outside the top ten. Paris and Bayern were underdogs, two teams I like to watch, they are in the top eight. So there are two ways. The teams that should be in the Final Four, they’ll be back soon and we’ll have one of the Spanish teams, I don’t know which one, but one from Spain. I guess they can make a big comeback or there will be some surprise. I really like Zalgiris by Andrea Trinchieri, who is Italian and whom I really appreciate. I have to put in Armani for the same reasons. A great coach like Messina, I was there six years, so there is hope that he will go to the Final Four. He’s headed in the right direction anyway.”

About his life in Thessaloniki: “Una face una race” is one of the nicest expressions I’ve heard since I came and I agree. If there is one thing that makes this experience better for me, it is this welcoming attitude, with everyone I have met here. It is a beautiful city, with beautiful people. They don’t want to make you feel like an outsider, but that you have the opportunity to participate. It’s different. I may be an Italian living here, but above all, I am human. For me and my family here, it’s been a great life so far. The results help!”