«We celebrated this qualification more than ever before»
Qualifying to the Istanbul Final Four was celebrated all over Greece and mostly by the people who have visualized this team. After the end of the game against Siena, Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos congratulated Dusan Ivkovic and his players. Immediately after that Konstantinos Angelopoulos was the one to follow.
The Olympiacos BC owners stayed for a long time in the team locker rooms and right after the end of the coaches Press Conference, spoke about the qualification…
On qualifying to the Final Four…
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: We enjoyed this qualification more than ever, both as owners and as fans and the reason lies in what we had faced before, all that we had to endure the previous years. It was such a hard goal to achieve, I doubt that more than 20 people have made reserved tickets for the Final Four…
On whether that’s how they dream about Olympiacos…
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: W dream of Olympiacos just as the team is going to be in Istanbul.
On whether this was a success or a lucky moment...
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: It was success...
On the Final Four…
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: We are going there as the outsiders. The great CSKA is going to be there, Barcelona is going to be there…
On whether they feel justified…
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: We don’t feel justification just yet. We have the Final Four and the League Finals ahead of us.
On whether the Final Four taking place in Istanbul has any special meaning…
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: Our family is attached to Istanbul, to the Patriarch’s throne, it’s very important to us. That’s why we had paid a visit there in the beginning of the season.
On Dusan Ivkovic’s statement that them being at the locker rooms together with Mr. Konstantinos Angelopoulos was touching…
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: They were unique moments, but I hope we live many more.
On whether they are going to stay with Olympiacos…
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: We are now being interviewed on qualifying to the Final Four. We’ll have to see about everything else.
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: Nothing is for certain. Everything is in transition is Greece. We don’t even know when we are going to elections.
Question: But your love for Olympiacos is not in transition.
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: Our love for Olympiacos is a constant.
On what this season had to teach them in comparison to previous years…
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: I had said when we had gone through Partizan in Paris, that Partizan is a proof that you don’t need a huge budget to make the four best team in Europe. We have come to the same conclusion this year with our team. However, it’s not only a money issue. You have to believe in a team that only a few others believe in. Just us and another 3500 that are always here with us at the gym.
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: It’s not a budget thing. We cannot say now the budget is low but we still made it. There are a lot of things to consider, and this is oversimplified. It takes a lot of analyzing…
On whether they imagine what will happen in case they win the Euroleague…
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: I’ll have to try and avoid my brother because he’s going to hit me…
On Thanassis Giannakopoulos (i.e. Panathinaikos President) saying that Olympiacos would not qualify to the Final Four.
PANAGIOTIS ANGELOPOULOS: Are we going to comment on Thanassis now? I don’t care to do that.
GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: Each one is entitled to their own opinion.