Dusko Ivanovic and the MVP Loukas Mavrokefalidis talked at the press conference after the Greek Cup final.
Dusko Ivanovic: “Apollon Patras have a very good team and play great basketball, and we won them, because we played very good defense throughout the game. After the loss to Alba Berlin we needed to re-gain our self-confidence and the way to do that was through the defense. It is the first trophy for me in Greece––for Panathinaikos is one of many. The most important is that we managed to get to this after having defeated Olympiacos at our home, without the support of our fans, and PAOK away. Today, I liked the atmosphere very much. This win will give us the necessary self-confidence for the next game in the Euroleague. I would like to wish good luck to Apollon Patras.”
Regarding the young players who came from the bench the head coach said: “I came here to take on a new project and develop young players. So far in the Greek League I have used these players so that they can gain self-confidence and be even better in the future. We should not forget that against Olympiacos for the Greek Cup we had many young players in our lineup. They won this game, so they deserved to play today. I like working with young players who have potential.”
Loukas Mavrokefalidis: “The win and the trophy are very important for us. Apollon Patras have a very good team and play great basketball. What counts most is the trophy and not that I am the MVP of the game. We will keep working. Our schedule is very difficult. After the loss to Alba Berlin we were not at our best, but I believe this trophy will be an impetus for the win against Red Star in Belgrade.”
