Tomorrow is a special day for Kostas Tsartsaris. In an “accomplishment-full” career he is ready to cross one more milestone in the game against Unics Kazan. He completes 200 participations in Euroleague, thus becoming one of just six players in the history of the competition to reach this number.
Tsartsaris made his debut in Euroleague during the 2000-01 season, wearing the Peristeri jersey on October 19, 2000 in Madrid playing against Estudiantes. In fact, he walked away of the game on the winning side, having had an exceptional performance of his own with 16 points and 8 rebounds… “Honestly, I do not remember how I had done that day…too many years have gone by…do you want me to tell you what I do remember about that day? It had nothing to do with the competitive part of the game: it is the fact that it was cold and at the corners of the arena there were heaters and electric fans to channel the heat to as big a part of the arena as possible.”
His first appearance with Panathinaikos came almost two years later: on February 9, 2002: “Yes …against Budusnot in a home game. I remember…We had won that game too…but again I do not recall how I had performed in it.”
It is proven once again that what interests him is what the team had done. “Generally speaking, I have many happy and – thankfully – less sad moments to remember. It is a beautiful journey, with many life-shaping experiences…beautiful destinations, tough games, lots of fans, lots of tension, important acquaintances… and, of course, titles! The best thing of them all! I have four Final Fours and three titles to remember… so, I think that I am entitled to say that these 3 out of 4 make for a good percentage.”
Setting a game apart from the rest proves a difficult thing to do. “There are many games, many beautiful moments. I definitely remember the final fours more intensely, because these are moments that remain indelibly carved to memory. The more recent they are, the more intensely I remember them. In general, there are many things that have left a mark to my memory all these years!”
Kostas Tsartsaris is about to join tomorrow a special “club” of players. He is just the sixth player to reach 200 participations in the Euroleague competition. He hears about it and laughs: “Had I not been unlucky with injuries, I would have ranked higher”… He changes style just a tad to finish off the discussion himself: “As long as I remain healthy, there will be more beautiful moments to live and remember….”
The top ten
1. Thodoris Papaloukas (CSKA Moscow, Olympiakos, Maccabi TA) 225
2. Jaka Lakovic (KRKA, Panathinaikos, Barcelona, Galatasarai) 213
3. Gianluca Basile (Beghelli Bologna, Barcelona, Bennet Kantu) 210
4. J. R. Holden (AEK, CSKA M) 209
5. Juan Carlos Navarro (Barcelona) 200
6. Kostas Tsartsaris (Peristeri, Panathinaikos) 199
7. Derrick Sharp (Maccabi ΤΑ) 195
8. David Andersen (Virtus VidiVici, CSKA Μ, Barcelona, Montepaschi Siena) 192
9. Nikola Vujcic (Villeurbanne, Maccabi ΤΑ, Olympiakos, Anadolu Efes) 192
10. Nikos Zisis (ΑΕΚ, Benetton Treviso, CSKA Μ, Montepaschi Siena) 191
*During his career in Euroleague, he has played in 199 games for 3695’25’’, has scored 1335 points, and also counts with 785 rebounds, 111 steals, and 186 assists.
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