Panathinaikos’ preparation begins August 19. Mike Batiste couldn’t wait to get back to Athens and so, only minutes after midnight at 00.35, August 15 he was committing his first phone call on Greek soil. He was spreading the word of his arrival at the “Eleftherios Venizelos”.
“I am really glad to be here again, because it is familiar territory, it is like my home”, were his first words as he stepped foot outside the arrivals area, as if not a single day had gone by, with his baggy white T-shirt, his cap worn backwards, his (extremely) baggy shorts, his sports gear. “Everything, the fans, the team, the country, were always a second home to me, so I had no trouble in deciding that I wanted to return here. I do not regret all that happened for one reason: It is what it is, it is in the past and you know me… I live for the present, for the future. These are the things I want to experience now. I am extremely happy to be here and I hope I can assist Panathinaikos in achieving its goals”.
As the name Dimitris Diamantidis would be mentioned, the smile that scarcely has left his face, becomes all the more wider and obvious: “I always anticipate meeting up with Dimitris; I am looking forward to playing with him. He is a guy who makes anyone competing next to him a better player. But there are also other players I can’t wait to play alongside with, there are other players and I am happy to be getting the chance to compete with them; players I respect and can’t wait to meet. Come next week we will be getting down to business all together, or almost all together, since there is the Eurobakset. And we all know that we must work tough from the very first down to the very last day in order to accomplish our targets”.
Mike Batiste felt it to be superfluous to explain which exactly these targets are. He is no newcomer to the team: “You know all too well what Panathinaikos’ goals are. They can’t change. It always aims high, to gain titles. But it is not all that easy. It is something you gain through an effort, but we must all be ready to live up to expectations”.
While he speaks and granted his dress-code, the only thing on your mind is that all he’s missing are them knee-high socks of his and he would be as good-to-go for a basketball clash… And the message his sends to his teammates actually dictates something in the vicinity: “Common… Hurry up! Gather! I am the first one to get here and I can’t wait to get into the court, meet my new teammates. I will settle in, chill a little and then am gonna put my sneakers on and I’m simply going to enjoy it…”
PHOTOS
