Ioannis Sfairopoulos gave his impressions about Greece, thoughts about the Olympic tournament, and whether Zvezda will bring any new reinforcements.
Ioannis Sfairopoulos is on a short break from his duties as Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade coach, but that does not mean he is not following international basketball.
Greece
Canada
SpainHe talked about numerous topics with Gazzeta GR, starting his interview by talking about the Greece national team.
'The initial samples are very positive. I think that we all make a very strong effort together: the boys who play, the coaching staff, and the management of the Federation," Sfairopoulos said. "Everyone together is trying to bring the National team back to success. Not that it wasn't done before, but for everyone who is involved, it is a sacred duty.'
'Failure and success are very close, especially in such games that they play in National Team competitions, where the knockouts are in a row, so it is very difficult to get to the end. Despite everything, an effort is always made, and those who served and are serving the National team always give their best,' Sfairopoulos continued.
Sfairopoulos also talked about the loss in an exhibition game against Serbia, stating Greece should not worry much about it.
'Serbia is a very strong team, with many NBA players and guys who mainly play a leading role in the Euroleague. They have a full roster, they were playing at home,' the coach noted. 'They are a team that are favorites for the medals, that's what I think. It has great quality. This test will be very useful, regardless of the result.'
'We lost, but for me, it was good that this game took place for everyone to see what the team needs to fix, where they need to stick to some details of the game to change them, and it definitely keeps some positives that the coaches saw, which they have to keep them and develop them as before.'
It's a positive result for me since it doesn't cost you much in terms of official events in the future. You can only take positive things out of a game like this, and I am sure that this is how everyone will perceive it, including the players, who understand when the moment comes to give that little bit more,' Sfairopoulos continued.
A former assistant in the Greek national team also gave his insight into Group A, where his country is placed.
'The group is difficult. They are teams that traditionally fight for medals. Australia, Canada, and Spain have players who are or were in the NBA. The Spanish have players who play in the EuroLeague, the highest European level. I think that our group is not easy, but we also have elements to counter the possibilities of our opponents that are capable of giving us the victories needed to advance.
In addition to ability, we also need a little chance to favor us. It's a difficult tournament because, as we said, it's the best countries from all the continents, so, for me, it's a tournament where all the games are crucial, you don't have an easy game," Sfairopoulos revealed.
In the final segment, Sfairopoulos discussed Crvena Zvezda and their approach to this year's transfer market.
'Are we done with signings? Maybe not. First of all, the additions we made were to strengthen the existing roster, which is quite worthy, but we wanted players who have playoffs and Final Final experience and certainly to strengthen the Serbian element that a Serbian team should have with as much as possible good Serbian players you can find,' Sfairopoulos said.
'That's what we tried to do. We have a full roster, we have three players in almost every position and I think it is up to us to do much better in Europe compared to last year. Last year ended in a very nice way, winning three titles, but we want to do much better in Europe, to be competitive in every game.
I don't like to look at the end, we go game by game, we have to start this way,' Sfairopoulos concluded.
