Apotheosis for the Captain by the captains!
An apotheosis by the emblematic leaders of Olympiacos and a ... protest letter by Printezis to the Euroleague was the aftermath of Kostas Papanikolaou's enormous achievement!
Giorgos Printezis, Vassilis Spanoulis and Milan Tomic (the ones ... displaced in the relevant ranking by 'captain' so as to become the player with most games played in Europe for Olympiacos), talked to olympiacosbc.gr for Pap's achievement.
'Pri' who up to now was the holder of said record, was in great spirits - as always - and ready for a joke. "I will send a complaint to the Euroleague for increasing the games in recent years and now just anyone can break our records. We spent twenty years of lives on the courts, for Kostas to come now and take first place! It's not fair! I'm only joking of course. He's a true friend and knows that I only tease him. I wish him from the bottom of my heart to make his dream come true and win a Euroleague title as the team's captain. He deserves it both as a person and as a player and team captain. I want to congratulate him on his big accomplishment, I know he has put in the work, he has really strived in the last few years to achieve this and he really deserves all that he's experiencing wearing the team's jersey. Wish him to double his games? He probably wouldn't want that because he should be playing until he's 45! But I do wish that whatever number of games he still gets to play with our team, to be full of success, team and personal ones and to always be healthy in body and spirit".
Vassilis Spanoulis talked about a charismatic person and player: "Kostas deserves all the honors and records available. He has written his own history wearing the red & white and continues doing so. For me, Kostas is a special player and I think he's also special for the team fans. His huge contribution does not exactly show in numbers and stats, but if someone asks his team mates or his coaches, they will all and I mean, all, tell you how crucial he has been and still is in all that Olympiacos has achieved all these years. Kostas is an outstanding person, he's a leader, a true captain, he cares about the welfare of the team and I'm really very proud for him. I want to congratulate him and tell him he deserves the best".
Kostas Papanikolaou had been team mates with the two Olympiacos' veterans. Milan Tomic though, one more legend of the team, talked about him from the coach's perspective. "i had the joy and honor to meet Kostas at a very young age and I can say with confidence that from his first professional steps up until now, that he's the captain of Olympiacos, he's the same person, the same player, has the same passion and the same love for the team and always gives 110% of him when he gets on the floor. Whether it is a practice or a game. He does not cheat and the work he puts in every day has started to capture in records. What else can a coach ask from his players? Kostas has the whole package, he's crucial for his team, a magnificent team mate and captain. If you take a look at his course all these years, it's only logical to have achieved all that he has and I think he still has time to reach more milestones. I want to congratulate him on his great achievement and I wish him health and that he succeeds in all his goals".