Vovoras for Papapetrou: “His character made him recognizable throughout European basketball”

In the EEC Webradio, hosted the George Vovoraswho referred to the withdrawal of John Papapetrou from active action.

Speaking about Panathinaikos’ forward, the Greek coach replied whether his decision, surprised, stood in his diamond character, and revealed various aspects of his career.

He said in detail:

Whether it is a surprise to him the withdrawal of John Papapetrou at such an age: “It was a great surprise for the whole basketball firm. Certainly his close people may have had some conversations with him, but for a player with this career at 31, although he had some injuries in recent years, it is a huge and very difficult decision, which he certainly thought very much. He put all the parameters down and made a decision that he thinks is right for his life, his career and his health above all. Greek and European basketball lose a player at a 31 -year -old age who still had a lot to give. Greek basketball does not have the luxury of losing John’s level players and is definitely a sad thing for basketball such a decision. “

For John Papapetrou: “I can go far behind. When he was 14 years old we had made a transitional to Elysian, we worked very much and have seen since then how much he loves the sport. You saw this from a very young age. He was a kid who was intended to do championships. This came from the love his family had offered him. You were seeing a child who was developing. He was a very tall kid from a very young age, with a great talent in his spiritual ability to “read” the game, to think. This has certainly evolved over the years. He was very helpful to the US part, where his body changed. He was a player who made the difficult transition from Olympiacos to Panathinaikos, made a long journey to both big teams and National and all the people who worked with him have only good words, whether sports or out of basketball. He had a great deal of dedication to basketball. This is the example of young kids, how a player has achieved with the dedication and desire to play basketball to “build” his career and do things that for many players is a dream of a life. “

For the dedication of John Papapetrou: “This is one of the features that every professional player should have. It might have come one and a half hours before training to prepare his body, work at 100%, sit down another hour. His goal was to basketball and his training not only lasted the two -hour team training. He is one of the few players I have seen so much his body, but he has had the misfortune in recent years to have knee problems. A very well -trained player, with many hours of work in the gym, but unfortunately this does not remove the misfortune an athlete can have at this level. This is another “bell” for athletes, how important it is to work their bodies, but also how athletic life brings them to a player. “

How he managed the transition from Olympiacos to Panathinaikos: “He’s a player who thought everything about his life and career and what he did when he was 100%sure. He was very timid, with a clear view of the reason he decided to make this change. It was not an emotional or financial decision. It was a decision that considered it right for its basketball future. He came perfectly concentrated and convinced that it is the right choice. We had a very good team with Coach Pascual then and in the first year it worked too much to get into a new environment and make this transition easier. He came and remained as a leader for two difficult years. Panathinaikos of the revenue-offspring could not be the one who dreams of the team world. Even then he had several suggestions, even thoughts to go to the NBA, but stayed there, supported and tried to do things and as a leader to be able to help the locker room be calm, since it was difficult for Panathinaikos to be in the top teams of the Euroleague. This effort he made is of equal value even with what he did last year. We all remember what happened in the series with Maccabi, how important his role was. “

For Panathinaikos, even in the difficult years: “In difficult times as a leader he did not hesitate to come forward and be able to keep the team in the locker room so that he could continue to operate and have goals. John was in front of it. The whole world of Panathinaikos recognizes how much the team has helped the team. It was his character that made him recognize him in European basketball. “

For the new chapter in his coaching career at Bahrain National: “It’s a small country, but a very interesting project. I want to start something different. It is a country with 1.5 million inhabitants, but there is a new administration where it wants to invest. They have brought young children high, in order to give them nationality, to develop them in the coming years to take the steps and have a significant presence throughout the Middle East region. It’s something new to me. I see people who love the sport very much, positive people to hear and evolve. The Middle East “opens” very much, there is an economic prosperity in these countries and they have the desire to take steps and get stronger on the basketball map in the coming years. “

For his goals there: “It’s a big challenge for me to put some European elements and develop the national and the young kids that follow. Day by day I assimilate their system and I am very pleased with what I have encountered in Bahrain. “