It may have been easily defeated by Olympiakos, however, the matchup was historic for Mykonosas it was the first on its renovated Stoiximan GBL pitch.
Something that her coach also spoke about at the press conference, with Vangelis Ziago in addition to the matches to analyze the importance of this event, emphasizing: “History is being written in a place, in an entire society”
What Vangelis Ziagos said in detail:
“I will not refer to the clichés about the difference in quality between the two teams. That’s the facts, that’s how it is and it doesn’t change. We follow Olympiakos, we admire them, as well as the other representative of Greece at the highest level of the EuroLeague, Panathinaikos. We always wish them the best and learn from them. We learn from the best, because that’s how knowledge progresses, basketball, everything.
But what I will dwell on is the fact that, in terms of our own standards and our own mindset, our own philosophy and what we want to represent as a team, we presented two diametrically opposed faces.
A first half, in which we were in this logic: a fighting team, putting their bodies, putting their hands, playing as a team in defense and attack, we supported each other, there was excitement and energy, and in the physical part we were there. We met the demands of the match against a high level team.
A second half, however, and that is what worries us. When Olympiacos decided to change their approach to their game, they picked up the pace, came out more focused and determined… Our reaction was one that exuded defeatism. It bothered us and we didn’t like it.
Because, however, I always want to see the glass as half full, in this sharp psychological shift of the children there is also the reading that they wanted so much to be close to the score, to face Olympiakos on equal footing for as long as possible, that when they saw that the score slipped away, they were disappointed”.
He added: “The other thing I want to focus on, and for us it is the whole point, all the juice, is that today we saw very clearly the effect that sports, basketball, sports in general have, within a society.
It is an absolutely historic moment for the island. The faces of the Mykonians shine, they are bright! They are living a fairy tale. History is being written in a place, in an entire society. We are part of this history, and this excites us, it shocks us.
No result could deprive us of this joy and this mood. However, it also shows the deep impact of sports. We are here to give happiness, joy. And that fills us with optimism. In the purely competitive part, it was obviously a game that has already gone down in history. From now on, the team, focused on its goals, begins its preparation for the difficult and important game ahead of us, with Maroussi”.
He concluded by saying: “We, because of the circumstances, are a completely new team, built from the ground up, both in terms of personnel and players. It is a process that takes time, requires the cooperation of many people, understanding, cohesion and chemistry. All this comes with time.
Due to the team doing 90% of their preparation off-island, we traveled to 4-5 cities before ending up here at our base. Until yesterday, the team was watching videos and… we were fighting with the technicians, who were also trying to do their job, because during the video we could hear the compressors and the machines working, so that the pitch is ready! We know that there is no other way.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
