Papadopoulos: “We are left with bitterness, but we hold our heads high – the kids will learn from it”

OR Young Men’s National He failed to take the next step, reaching four of the Eurobasket U20, with France taking the ticket to the semifinals of the Heraklion event.

After the clash, the Kostas Papadopoulos She referred to the details that brought the defeat, but stressed that her players Greece They have to keep their head high and learn from this exclusion.

“Unfortunately we have bitterness. We have been playing with a team that has done a great job in recent years and is constantly starring. I want to thank my players for fighting. Unfortunately we had 46% in shots and 16% on three -pointers, to win these matches you have to be more apt and put some big shots.

Unfortunately we made some defensive mistakes that cost us. It’s because of age. Pressure may have played a role. But we must take into account the athleticism and bodies of our opponents. We hold our head high, the kids will learn from it, they will get better so that they can staff the Men’s National. “said the National Coach.

On his part, the Nikos Touliatos stated: “We made a great effort. Unfortunately we lost a lot of rebounds, in the last phase we got two offensive rebounds and the game was judged in the last occupation. Certainly there was stress, it was a big game, we lost a lot of shots, but we had to get the rebounds and win. “

Statements made and Haris Paraskevopouloswho said: “It was definitely worth something better. We did not control a focal point, which is rebounds. France dominated this part and our failure in shots and three -pointer played a role in the result. We wanted to achieve something big in front of our world. Thanks for coming and supporting us, I have no words. We have two more games and we will give the best to end as high as possible. This team has a future and I think the children of the team will play a leading role in the coming years. “

About the game that brought the exclusion spoke and the Alexander Samondurov: “The match was judged in the details, the two teams were very close. We didn’t expect any games to be easy, all the matches are difficult in cross. Today we were not as ready as France. Let’s go from the day after tomorrow to win the two games that are left. “

Finally, the Michael Christof HayFrance coach, he said: “It was a very difficult game, very closed and the two teams took a lot of energy. I think he played a role that we had a great deal of depth and tired Abdalas. It was a very good victory for us. We are very happy to have reached the semifinals.

Greece is a very strong team, one of the best in the event, as well as Serbia. We showed character in the end and won. Greece has a very good team, with Avdalas and Samondourov to stand out. Maybe today they were a little tired because they played for many minutes yesterday. “