By Semih Tuna & Uygar Karaca / info@eurohoops.net
Galatasaray coach Andreas Pistiolis talked to Eurohoops about the EuroBasket 2022 and commented on the eliminations of medal favorites Slovenia, Serbia and Greece before the semifinals.
“People oversimply things,” Pistiolis said on Slovenia, Serbia and Greece not making the Top 4 of the EuroBasket. “They think of Giannis, Doncic, and Jokic. That is not who’s playing the game. It’s their teams. Greece, Slovenia. Those are the ones that play the game. You may have good players but the team may have bad chemistry or they may end up as not a good team in total.”
“Alternatively, you can also have a good team in total but sometimes it is not your day,” Pistiolis added. “This is the knockout format, one bad game and you are out. These things happen. This year’s Eurobasket proved exactly that with a single game, anybody can beat anybody. In the end, the teams that made it to the final were better teams. They had better psychology and better teamwork. They enjoyed playing the game more. They had a different energy. No matter how good players you have, this is not a guarantee that you will build a successful team. People want to attribute a defeat to a great player but it doesn’t work like that. It’s everybody’s defeat in the team. And it is the same when you win. One guy cannot win the tournament by himself.”
Spain won the gold medal against most predictions and Pistiolis believes that this is a testament to the quality of the overall basketball infrastructure in the country.
“I think the people who did not see the Spanish team as favorites, never learned a lesson,” Pistiolis mentioned. “These teams are not an accident. For both Spain and France, you can see their success at every level. From youth ages to women’s team and men’s team as well, you can see the organization and team’s culture. No matter what, these teams will always be there and produce and be successful because they are built correctly, from head to bottom. They are always on the right path.”