The Presidents’ comments following the completion of the team’s European journey
The Presidents of Olympiacos, Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos talked mainly about the emotions stirred in them by the presence of 12,000 ‘reds’ fans in the “Stark Arena”.
“First of all, we have to thank the fans for coming”, Mr. Panagiotis Angelopoulos stressed and continued: “12,000 fans came to Belgrade for the team! I don’t think this has ever happened before. The fans have been amazing both in the semi-final and tonight. We lived one of a kind moments. This makes us proud, and it’s unique to participate this feeling in terms of what we get to contribute to this team. Congratulations to the team, they went above and beyond to come to the final four, we received a bucket two tenths of a second before the end of the semi-final from one of the best players in Europe. That’s basketball. We have also won games at the buzzer. We are now moving forward to win the Greek League. Olympiacos has not won a double since 1997 and it’s a very significant goal”.
Mr. Giorgos Angelopoulos’ statements were in the same wave length: “What happened these past few days has never happened before in the history of European basketball, neither at club level competitions, nor with National Teams. 12,000 fans traveled from Greece, from the States, from all over the place, in a very difficult financial climate. I think it’s something really big and we are probably going to realize the extent of it in the future. It’s overwhelming and we are grateful both to the fans and the team for what they have achieved. The coach is universally acknowledged, he was won the acknowledgement and respect of the whole organization, all of the fans and all of Europe. He deserves lots of credit”.
Mr. Panagiotis Angelopoulos also talked about the apotheosis reserved for Giorgos Bartzokas and Giorgos Printezis. “Bartzokas was voted Coach of the Year. We didn’t select him, Europe did and he deserves to be congratulated. As for Printezis, if tonight’s was his last European game, I believe it was a deserving one. He received apotheosis from the whole arena”. Commenting about the fact that despite the loss, the Olympiacos fans not only did not leave the arena, but continued singing with the same passion up until the end of the 3rd place game, he said: “The only final four I left following a lost semi-final was in 2009. I never would have imagined that we would be here in 2022 with 12,000 fans by our side, cheering us to the end, vindicating our choice, because there is a nexus among all of the above. It’s the same team, with the same Presidents that made this decision and came two steps away from reaching the top of Europe. I wouldn’t had imagined that in 2009, no…”.
Asked about what it is that comes to their mind, Mr. Giorgos Angelopoulos took it upon him to answer. “This is what comes to mind, all the way to the end… The team of all the way to the end made it here. It’s a season that will probably produce developments for the Euroleague, so we need to have to wait and see what happens. As you know, there a lot of open issues. Hopefully the product gets better, a salary cap is introduced, which we have been talking and advocating for, for years now. Be more like the NBA, have a more competitive league. Playing against teams that have your budget times three, four or five, you can win sometimes, you can even win many times, other times you will lose, but, to have a competitive league, you need to have a salary cap. If it happens, it will really help the product. Getting it done is a matter of will. If it’s decided and applied, then it will be really helpful to the product. All teams would be able to win the Euroleague, it’s as simple as that”.
As for the next goal… “We are going to win the Greek League”, Mr. Panagiotis Angelopoulos said simply but decisively. Of course Mr. Giorgos Angelopoulos agrees. “Our main goal this season is to win the Greek League. Winning the double (Greek Cup and League) and participating the final four, so that this extraordinary season closes in an amazing way and then we get to move forward…”