Argyris Pedoulakis spoke at the Press Conference of the rights and wrongs of the encounter versus Aris, the use of one’s head which is a necessity in every game, his players’ performances and the upcoming clash with Olympiacos.
The Panathinaikos Head Coach stressed: “I wish everyone a good basketball season, with health because if I use the word prosperity it will sound as if I am joking. Maybe in the first half we thought that things would be easy, because Aris’ three Americans were not competing. We played more instinctively than through a mind set. In the first five minutes we got the lead but this through lucky three pointers and this is a dangerous game. When you are as worn out as us, after all the trips, you play using your brain. We have many new guys and certain habits will be given up through incidents, experiences. Today’s game will help us a lot. In the second half Tsartsaris’ presence calmed the team, we formed a cushion, rotated the ball correctly, whereas in the first half we committed a shot off a single pass. In the second half we played more as a team, cleverer, got the advantage and held fast up to the end. We do not look at the score… We look upon the mistakes and the things we must correct. I wish all the best next for Aris and strength to Vangelis Alexandris”.
Pedoulakis was questioned so much about “his players coming off the bench good performance such as Skordilis, Giannopoulos and Xanthopoulos”, as about “the Americans’mediocre appearance”: “Skordilis is showing signs of improvement and really helped out in backcourt but he also made a step forward actually becoming more simple in his offensive game. Giannopoulos has still a long road ahead of him. He has the character of a shooter and he is responding to it. Xanthopoulos is a familiar persona. We brought him to help out and offer rest to Diamantidis. We needed a swift guard. The Americans came to a league that has lots of brains and tactics and they need time to adjust. Kitchen got into a program on Monday and is still to establish his pace”.
A question was made also in reference to “if he feels that he will be judged in the clash versus Olympiacos”: “Panathinaikos does not function like that. It has proved to be a team with a great basketball IQ, a successful team that will play smartly. We are on that path. I believe we will be ready when we must”.
Vassilis Xanthopoulos stressed in the Press Conference:“We failed to begin as we should have. Our words were not put into actions. In the second half this was remedied we performed with team spirit and got better in backcourt. It is a significant thing that the championship commenced since we played in Madrid with a single official game behind us. I wish all the best next to Aris, a good season to all teams and health to all the players”.
Kostas Tsartsaris stated after the end of the clash: “Concentration in the third quarter made the difference. We had said certain things in the locker rooms, but up to that point we had failed to illustrate them. We allowed Aris to easy buckets. From the point we did all we had said on the floor, it was only a matter of time for us to mount to an advantage and expand it then on. It is certainly a special year for us. After many years we had many people go, others to come along but Panathinaikos remains one of the best clubs aiming at three goals and we hope to show what we can do for yet another season”.
Vangelis Alexadris, Aris’ Head Coach, stressed after the end of the clash versus Panathinaikos: “We had performed a very good preparation for this precise game when seeing that the players at our disposal would be the ones we had today. We had a great first half mainly in defense, we managed to block Panathinaikos’ offensive rotation and keep the score at a low region. We were unable to shoot, even though we had great perimeter shots. In the locker rooms we said that the first five minutes of the second half would be of dire importance and that we must challenge the game with our fans by our sides. We stepped out without energy and we didn’t make it. We received baskets we shouldn’t have and when Panathinaikos broke away score-wise the appropriate energy to return in the game did not exist. I hang on to three quarters; leave out the third period which was defining. Our efforts do not rest here. I am happy to have Verginis back. And we will continue working, trying in the next game to unravel a better image. I am one of the team’s soldiers and I follow the administrations orders, in which I too participate. This year’s planning had angles. We formed a good team with the three foreigners and a very low budget. I asked the president for two other players in the position of the three foreigners. It isa confined market. I am very happy Dimitris (Verginis) came along because he is one of my favorite guys and he fits in the team. We preferred him to Keys, because he is also Greek while I have also requested that Nadjfeji comes to the team. But I am unable to get into further details”.
Sotiris Karapostolou, player for Aris, stated:”The game was ruled in the third quarter. We were good in the first half when we did all we had said. In the third quarter we lost our concentration, Panathinaikos exploited it and got an advantage which it maintained down the stretch. We tried to get back in the game but we failed. The championship has just begun. What we want is to become better next and do what we must on the court in order to win. What we learned today is that we must constantly fight and not experience dry spells without concentration. Certainly if the three Americans were competing we would have got lots of help. But this is the reality we must live with”.
