Kostas Kaimakoglou, Ian Vougioukas and David Logan were present for the Press Conference held at the OAKA arena in views of the 2012 THY Euroleague Final 4. All three focused on the level of difficulty of the semi-final versus CSKA Moscow but also in the faith that Panathinaikos can defend its title”.
K. Kaimakoglou: “Prepared for battle”
From the moment the team qualified onto the Final 4, we were all waiting for the Final 4 week to arrive. Many games intervened in between the fifth game across from Maccabi Tel Avivi and the present, but the Final 4 was always on our minds. Now, the time is here… We have had more time in front of us to work on certain things on the court. All that weighs on our minds right now is the semifinal. The basic thing for us is that we are all healthy and that come Friday, at the semifinal we will present ourselves focused to do everything and anything that has been instructed to us from our coaches. We have faced CSKA Moscow two time before but this will be an entirely different encounter. We have also made great use of the video in order to study quite a few snapshots, we have seen many positive moves we have made but we have also seen our mistakes. The first thing we should make sure is not to commit the same turnovers all over again. It is a final and every single player is of dire importance, regardless of the court time one might be awarded during the game. We must all give it 100% and leave any problems we might have behind, let it be that someone is recovering from an injury or certain good or bad games, You must be prepared for battle!”
Kaimakoglou was asked about the teams preparation and about all Zeljko Obradovic had stated in a previous Press Conference concerning certain players’ presence on court and all the work they put in. “What coach had said was that besides the team work that takes place, each and every player as a unit knows at every moment what he must do on court. Either that’s a shot, or weight-lifting, or even personal training with one of the coaches of work-out with the trainer. Everyone of us is a professional and knows what he must do. When the coach sets a warning alert that means that maybe someone has relaxed. And I believe that the entire team has received the message crystal clearly. I really feel that everyone has put in extra effort. It is actually something that must take place gradually, because you cannot enforce immense extra pressure. You can’t just out-do yourself out of the blue because that might pressure you and stress you out even more. You certainly need to do more, but always gradually and bearing in mind not only the mind’s but also the body’s needs”.
The question posed to Kaimakoglou was in reference to CSKA Moscow’s… height: “When you get to these games, they are in their selves a motive. But since these great encounters are won in backcourt, defense is on what we must focus. My personal motivation is to stop my opponent. Anyone who might find himself across from me. We must all understand if that we are to have any luck we must give it our all in defense, since that is what awards titles. Especially when we know that we have to face a world class team”.
Ian Vougioukas
Ian Vougioukas’ anticipation for the Final 4 tip-off was more than apparent even from his very first word: “Finally we are headed to the Final 4, in the week that leads to the final phase of the tourney. It is something we have been expected for quite some time. I believe that with all the team’s practices we will be ready for a great clash. We view it as a final since we have to face a great opponent, whom we have faced twice before this season. We have seen and will see quite a few snapshots of those encounter and we hope that we will be able as a team to stop them and nail our goal, which is of course to win. I believe that if everyone does his very best. Each of us will put team ahead of self and give it his all in order to get this win”.
Panathinaikos had lost twice from CSKA Moscow and this very fact is a reference point: “We certainly would have hoped for a victory especially here in Athens in the two games of the regular season. I don’t think that this fact we have such a negative effect on us. I suppose it might help us, seeing that we will view this game as the one in which we might upset CSKA favorite stature. Because both its stride through this season and the two wins it injured us with during the regular season more than justify people viewing CSKA as the favorite. If we played good basketball and follow our coaches instructions we can fight back and go for the win”.
The presence of many names that stood out this year in Euroleague can only function motivationally for Vougioukas: “The entire season all we have been hearing is that it is a fuller team, more ready and that it has more talented players. This can work as a motive for all of us as a team in order to beat them. But also on a personal level. We must play in the best possible manner and especially in the first game”.
David Logan: “Over-excited”
David Logan is one of the Panathinaikos players who has yet to get a bite out of a Final 4 tournament experience: “The Fnal 4 is here. Everyone is excited and for sure I am no exception to this fact, seeing that it is my first time to the tournament. We have a couple of days more training in order to be more than ready for the semifinal. The most important thing is to remain focused on what it is we have to do”.
When asked about how he, himself feels, he stressed: “I am over-excited! When you reach all the way up to here you have reached a really big goal of the season. My teammates keep me informed on what to expect. It is essential that I know stuff, like what happens with the media, what goes on competitively wise, what the schedule is like. What I hope for is to stay focused and be ready, not to allow anything to distract me from my goal and stay concentrated on the mission we have as a team”.
