Panathinaikos became the first European team ever to travel to China and compete against one of the country’s teams. The first game was committed in Foshan. The team’s head coach, Argyris Pedoulakis and its captain Dimitris Diamantidis, spoke on the Greek radio station in China about the trip’s importance but also about Ping Shang’s presence on the team.
“Panathinaikos is a huge name throughout Europe and according to Euroleague it is the most popular one, and we are interested in getting it known in other continents”, stressed Pedoulakis only to add: “China is a vast country with immense potential and we hope to exchange expertise and not only. We want to see things not only involving basketball-this is part of its culture-but also its philosophy. We believe that China has these things, since it has a great cultural tradition; so we can offer certain other things and we believe that also for the team it will be something nice, to take elements from China”.
About if Pedoulakis will be getting other Chinese players on the team, he stressed: “We are interested in inviting teams to Athens, as also coaches from the country. At the same time, our guys can come over here for 15-20 days to collaborate. We want a permanent collaboration of exchanging knowledge and expertise. I believe that the Chinese basketball copied the NBA quite a lot, which is much different than the European basketball, which is based on the team, while the NBA is based mainly on the unit and I believe that it is not that fitting to the Chinese culture, which is mainly set in respect towards the mass”.
When asked about Ping Shang, he stated: “At first it was really tough for him, because he had an entirely different approach to the game. Gradually however he has made progress, he has adapted and I believe that every month that goes by he will become even better. That is why as I stated before, it is really important for the Chinese players to come along and play at a high level. Thus they will obtain confidence, the mentality and the expertise to convey further. This is what we did when we first began basketball as a nation, and through this method we managed to reach to success. We believe that there are children at a young age, which we might be able to help improve. The oldest one is, the hardest it is. It is just like a student at school. It is the same thing. We have our attention steered toward the Chinese basketball Market and players we believe have what it takes with the appropriate handling will improve”.
Diamantidis: "Happy to have Ping on the team"
This trip was not Dimitris Diamantidis’ first to China. A tournament in 2006 prior to the World Championship and the 2008 Olympic Games had pre-existed.
“The experience from this trip also is great; it is the first European team to come to China, to a country with such a crowd, which likes basketball and we are impressed by the hospitality we are presented with. We are happy to be getting to see new things, to be discovering new cultures, people different from us and it is our delight to be here and we hope this experience which is in its first steps will continue and become all the more stronger”.
When asked about if he would be interested to return to China, he stressed: “I hope we manage to come back, I hope teams and people from Chinese basketball manage to come to Athens and get to know Greece; all this that is taking place is very interesting. For me personally, it is not my first time; I have already been here twice before. Once for the Olympics and once in 2006 again praise to basketball. Certainly it is something different, the experience of a lifetime”.
Diamantidis commented on Ping Shang’s presence in Panathinaikos: “It is something new for him also. He is coming to a country and to a philosophy both quite different to what he is use to. So for us it is also an experience to get to know him. Because basketball is a team sport, one must assist the other; certainly it is a new experience to be able to adapt the team to the basketball style we aspire to perform behind, in order for Ping to be able to understand what European basketball is like. We are happy to have Ping on our team and I hope he feels the same way too. Certainly it is tough to leave your country, your parents and your friends to travel far away and we must help him and make him feel nice; this is what we are trying to do”.
