Bafe: “With good Papanikolaou, Olympiacos does not lose – Angelopoulos’ humility characterizes the whole organization”

Olympiacos won 86-84 the Real Madrid away and made it 3-1 in each of their play-offs Euroleaguetaking the qualification for the Final Four of the event.

THE Sports Director of the ‘reds’, Christos Bafaspoke to the EEC Web Radio about the huge success of securing the fourth consecutive presence in the four, while praising them Kostas Papanikolaou, Sasa Vezenkov, Ivan Fournierbut also Angelopoulos brothers.

In detail what he said:

That this will be the 4th successive presence of Olympiacos in Final-4: “It’s not easy at all. We think that qualifying for the Final-4 is simple and when you do it and nothing happened. It is a great success in itself. On the other hand, you realize that Olympiacos always targets the titles and the top. We have achieved something important, we are happy for today, but tomorrow it has a workout. We start the series with AEK on Sunday (04/05), but also the big goal in the Final-4, where we only want to get to the top. “

For his goal of winning the European in the 100th anniversary of Olympiacos: “It will certainly be important as a fact that we are able to bring titles in the 100th anniversary of the club, all sections. We are doing well enough as Olympiacos so far. We have reached the 4th Final-4 series and we want to reach the top again, after 12 years. “

As for their hearts louder, Vezenkov’s three -pointer or in the wrong shot of Abalde’s victory: “In Abalde’s three -point he didn’t hit at all. More struck in Vezenkov’s three -point. It was a point where the comeback had become, the team had stuck aggressively and also the ball was stuck in Vezenkov’s hands at that stage, but Sasha is a huge player and put this basket with his soul. With that he gave great confidence to the team. “

That this will be the 9th Final-4 in Kostas Papanikolaou’s career: “Papanikolaou is a leader of the whole meaning of the word and the leader that all teams would like to have in their roster. Kostas is a child who will do everything for the team. All these years, when Papanikolaou is good, Olympiacos doesn’t lose. In 2012 and 2013, Spanoulis may have been the MVP or the amazing, but Papanikolaou was both fantastic. When Papanikolaou is well, Olympiacos doesn’t lose. “

To support the world in Madrid and the reception from the Olympic world at the airport at 6:30 in the morning: “In general, the presence of fans in recent years, and especially this year on every trip, to the SEF, is gasoline on the team engine. The faith that the world shows is a great power. It is really important to be at 6:30 in the morning at the airport. It is important as they come and see the team’s games and shout from the first moment. Were shocking yesterday (01/05). They were very high on the “Movistar Arena”, but they heard every time the team was a basket. It may have been 300 people, but often heard much more than 11,000 Spaniards. “

For tickets entitled to Final-4: “It’s a few tickets. They won’t even reach the 500 that the teams get. And the stadium does not have a large capacity, it has 9,000 seats. What we know is that many Olympics have done the necessary actions, reservations, purchases to be on the side of the team in Abu Dhabi. I’m not able to say exactly the number, but it’s big enough. “

For Vasilis Spanoulis in the semifinals with Monaco: “It will be difficult to find opponents in a Final-4, but of course we want to succeed. Vasilis is a member of the history of Olympiacos, one of the biggest parts of the team’s history. He is forever in Olympiacos’ family. Of course we will see him at night and have a positive aura for him to qualify. ”

Whether he considers all what Olympiacos has achieved this year with so many problems: “I don’t like the word ‘feat’, because they make people who have health problems and do it or people who fight for everyday life and live their families. Being in a team that offers you everything, as the Angelopoulos do at Olympiacos who offer the ideal working conditions for everyone is not a feat, just doing your job. There will always be setbacks and injuries, but we have never stood in the problems. Yes, there were a lot of this year, but not many years ago. That is, the year we went to the Final-4 of Kauna or Belgrade there were no injury problems. It is important for an organization to succeed and find a way to succeed under any circumstances. This shows that there are solid and solid foundations and that people who are in the body know what to do under such conditions. Sometimes they will fail, but the important thing is to try with all your might. “

On how important the team’s presidents have played in all the successes of Olympiacos all these years: “Theirs is the creation, these are the architects, they envision it every year, they give the guarantees and the tools to succeed. Without them I don’t think the team would have achieved so many things all these years. It’s not just that they are presidents and they give their money, that’s just one piece. The other part is the daily operation with them, how they work and how they are on the side of the team. Humble, quiet, behind the lights. They deal with the team 24 hours a day. We are talking about world -wide businessmen, but they always find time to deal with Olympiacos because this is their love. Without doing so for the spotlight. The humility that shows and the low tones is what characterizes the body in general. “

For the fact that Evan Fournier “tied up” with the team from the first moment: “This is important, but it is important that the athlete always wants it. Evan is the combination of the absolute professional and the… amateur athlete. That is, he does it professional and at the same time shows love for what he does as an amateur shows. Evan’s daily life in the SEF, how he moves and works, is an example for all of us. It is also important that the organization offered him all that he wanted. I think if anyone asks him about being coming to Olympiacos, he would answer that he was happy for his decision. “

On whether there is any development about the chef: “It’s very thin. There are constantly discussions. When there is something that will be announced, whether positive or negative, it will be known. The organization does not stop working for this project too. “