«Prometheus first, then the finals»
Giannis Sfairopoulos and Vassilis Spanoulis talked at the scheduled STOIXIMAN.GR Basket League Press Conference (23/05, Acropolis Museum) in view of the playoffs semis and finals. Both the coach and the captain agreed that the 'reds' need first take care of the semis against Prometheus and then focus on the finals.
Giannis Sfairopoulos at first talked about the series against Prometheus that starts on Thursday (23/05, 17.00 CET) and the first two games that will be held at the SEF since the Piraeus team has home court. "We have a semis series against a team that has earned everyone's respect. Prometheus rightfully is at the third place of the Regular season. They have chemistry, roles and proper leadership in the bench. They are very well supported by their fans and they have a strong administration. That is the kind of teams Greek basketball needs. We put a lot of emphasis on the series. The key for us is to get over injuries, find rhythm. We have been trying to recover from injuries during the past month. We have lost roles and chemistry with continuous ins and outs. I hope that we are going to be ready at the right time".
Asked about incidents of violence on the courts, the Olympiacos' coach said" Sports unite people. It's a form of culture. All violence is to be condemned. Of course everyone wants to win, but there is only one that can be first at the end. That's the beauty of sports. The fact that you don't know before hand who is going to win. We need to be better educated in regard to sports. I hope we watch games totally free from violent incidents".
On Prometheus: "As I said before, Prometheus was 3rd in the regular season and very justifiably so. I'd like to talk about the academies and the production of athletes. That's what we in Greece should be focusing on. Producing new athletes. We need to be helping all this talent to keep playing basketball, which is the top sport in Greece. We need to support all these young kids. It's very important to have one club outside the main metropolitan areas among the top 4 teams. I have worked for such a team and I can understand how difficult it has been for them. Some time ago there had been only a couple of such teams. Basketball should be embraced in the periphery of Greece. It needs to stay outside the two major cities. There are teams that have playing in the top category for years and haven't got the support they deserve from the local community. Maybe fans are bored; maybe the financial hardships have played a role".
Asked about the possible match ups against Panathinaikos in the finals, the Olympiacos coach explained that… "We have all our attention trained on the semis against Prometheus. They are a team that can hurt you if you don't play well. This is what we are thinking about now. I cannot answer about Panathinaikos and their undefeated record. They have been playing very well up to now and they haven't lost a game, but I don't think there is an element of surprise".
On his part, Vassilis Spanoulis pointed out: "Nothing changes in regard to what has been going on. We are going after the goal we are setting for every season. I hope the fans enjoy good games". On the possibility of playing against Panathinaikos in the finals, the 'reds' captain, said: "We are first focusing on the games against Prometheus. We need to be serious, play good games. The teams are very experienced and I don't think anyone can be surprised".