He came late, but made sure from the very start to prove he had come to stay. And he did so in actions, signing his new contract with Panathinaikos for the next two years immediately. James Gist admits that he had little to think about when the team suggested extending their collaboration.
“I knew well what I wanted… and not after the end of the championship. I knew way before. I wanted to stay. Everything was good in Panathinaikos. I could find no reason to make me want to leave. Even before the games versus Barcelona, essentially I knew that I wanted to stay on with the team”.
-So, you had little to contemplate on when you were informed about the proposition, didn’t you?
“Exactly… Truth is that I had little to think about. I am really glad; I am thrilled that I am going to be here for the next two years. As also, another positive is the fact that I am going to be here from the start and not as it happen last season, where I had arrived, the team’s obligations to have already begun. I believe it is something which will further aid me”.
-What are your expectations for the next season?
“I expect it to be even better that this year’s… I don’t know how one might interpret this, but it is exactly what goes for me. I want it to be a better season, as I aspire on a personal level to be able to offer even more to the team and for all of us to experience great moments again. It is important to me, the fact that I will be in familiar surroundings starting from day 1”.
-Like the ones you experience on… the bus roof top?
“(he laughs) Definitely! It was a first. So many people before we left for the game but also as we would return! I haven’t got to see any videos, but I have watched the ones I captured numerous times! I have told some of my friends but they cannot believe it. Truth is if you haven’t experienced it you can’t really actually grasp the thought… All this I lived through this season was special. For me to be given the opportunity to perform in one of the greatest teams throughout Europe, as I had stated already from back in my first day to come to the team, is mighty significant! The fact that I am getting to return, to stay on this team and to challenge more titles with it, makes me extremely content!”
