Zisis: “Huge struggle for us the little final”

The importance it has for the National team and Greek basketball today’s little final with Finland for the Eurobasket pointed out Nikos Zisisspeaking in Serbian Meridian Sport.

THE General Manager of “Official Favorite” He stressed that players should set aside their frustration and give it everything to win a very dangerous opponent and get the bronze medal.

At the same time talked about her Bogdan Karaicic’s choice on Mars benchbut also his advice Zeljko Obradovic. In detail, Nikos Zisis talked about:

-the small final: “It’s a great achievement that we got to the first four for the first time in 16 years. The last time we did this was in 2009. It is normal to be frustrated after a difficult defeat in the semifinals, but at the same time we have a great opportunity to win the bronze medal. If you think of the excluding teams – big teams such as Serbia, France – who have won medals in previous years and have a huge tradition, it is even more important. So we restart, redefine our focus and try to play the best possible game against a very dangerous team. They are young, they have incredible energy, a shooter in all positions and we have to play a great game to achieve our goal. ”

-the significance of the bronze medal: “As soon as we entered the top four, many Greeks came from all over Greece to support us. The moment is critical. The players are experienced, they understand how important this is. This is not the Euroleague Final 4, where the match for third place is insignificant. Here, the race for third place is a truly huge race. We have seen many times that teams who lose in the semifinals, if they manage to find the energy and concentration for the next race, win the bronze medal match. This is a huge challenge for us and we will do our best to win a medal – first and foremost for the players, for the whole team, for the federation and all Greeks around the world. ”

-the profile of Finland: “We can learn a lot from Serbia’s defeat. They were hungry, fought for every ball and played incredibly. So they defeated Serbia. The Finns play high, require you to spend a lot of energy, which is not easy and not just normal. Of course, they have weaknesses, but the way they play – shoot from all positions, attack rebounds, run on counterattacks – makes them extremely dangerous. We must not forget the role of Valtonen, who had not shooting well to that point, so he played the best race of the tournament and surprised Serbia. Murinen had an excellent perspective, and of course Marcanen was there as their leader. It is a very dangerous team that is not a typical European team that does not play traditional. They will shoot like crazy, jump, they will run … They showed this against Serbia, in a race that could have gone back in the last three minutes. But so is basketball, so are the knockout matches. Serbia, as one of the main favorite of the tournament, paid it dearly. ”

-His memories of the time he was playing in the bronze 2009: “Especially when I’m here with the national team, memories are renewed. At the end of the tournament, everything has to do with mental strength. We lost in 2009 in the semifinals with a difference from Spain, but we managed to find the energy and bring what was left on the stadium in the battle for the bronze medal against Slovenia, which lost to Serbia. It reminds me a lot of the current situation, like a deja vu – and then and now we were defeated in the semifinals, but we have managed to draw extra power from this pain for the struggle of third place. I hope our players do the same now. They have been together for 50 days, they work incredibly hard, they are all great players – John is the NBA and MVP champion, Sloukas has four Euroleague titles, Papanikolaou and others have also achieved a lot. It would be huge for them to finish this with a medal, especially because for some it may be their last match with the national team jersey. ”

-Mars coach Bogdan Karaicic: “It was not a decision without thought and deep analysis. I think he is a coach with an idea and philosophy that suits us. Although he does not yet have much experience as a first coach at this level, he has worked as an assistant with great coaches, such as Obradovic, who we all know who he is, as well as Kokoskov. When we talked before signing, we realized that we were thinking the same thing. It has a modern view of basketball and experience in working with young players, which is important because we are building a new project. We are creating a new era on Mars. He is motivated and wants to prove himself, he also had offers from other clubs, but he decided to come to us, which makes us very happy. I’m glad we were convinced to come to us and I hope in an excellent collaboration. ”

-Contact with Obradovic before the Karaici hiring: “We had a brief discussion on the signature. I have a huge respect for him, I worked with him for six months and for me he is probably the best European coach of all time. Before the whole story begins, Mars, I wanted to hear his opinion and ask him if he agrees with the recruitment. I talked to him and had no objection, which was important to me for coach Karaicic, who also received a positive reaction from Zeljko. “