By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Dimitris Itoudis and Hapoel Tel Aviv will have the chance to play in next season’s EuroLeague, especially if they win the EuroCup finals against Gran Canaria, and the Greek coach is already feeling on familiar ground.
As he confirmed while talking to NOVA TV in the pre-game show of the EuroLeague night, Hapoel has already applied for a three-year license to the competition.
Itoudis, also the president of the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board, talked previously to the Greek basketball federation’s web radio and explained why the competition should expand and accommodate more clubs and more games, repeating his well-known position about replacing the Final Four with a playoffs series.
As he said: “I believe that the time has come for the Euroleague to expand to more teams, for the championship to grow, for the way the games are played to change, for us to go with more games with a different style. The EuroLeague Head Coaches Board had proposed the addition of the Play-Ins, and you have seen the success that this idea had”.
Speaking about the Israeli team and Hapoel’s owner, Ofer Yannay, Itoudis explained that while the project is new, the ambitions are very high: “He’s new to basketball and sports, so he has excitement. It is one thing to have experience and support a project over time, and it is another to be new and to have formed some ideas on your own or that you have taken from others. Ofer is busy with a very full 24-hour schedule, but he constantly finds time for basketball, for his coaches, and for his players. Obviously, at the moment, he is satisfied with the results of his team, but he continues to look to the future”.
Yannay was the reason Itoudis decided to cut his sabbatical short and return to action, earlier than he expected: “I had decided not to work this season, but the team owner talked to me on the phone every now and then, presenting his vision, what he wants to achieve with Hapoel Tel Aviv, and what he wants to offer the sport. We all need to listen and talk to people who are ready to invest. Since the EuroLeague is also thinking about expanding to other teams, the voices and actions of our team owner should be heard. That’s why he convinced me; we worked together, and I’m here right now trying to build something good.”
Valencia, Gran Canaria, and Pat Beverley
Itoudis reiterated his respect to Valencia and also to Gran Canaria, which will be his opponent in the EuroCup Finals: “We knew that we were playing against the best team in the EuroCup, which has proven this in Spain and Europe, and its roster has nine players with EuroLeague experience. I think we were the better team in the series. Now, we look at the next day with optimism. Gran Canaria is an equally experienced team; after all, in 2023, they won the EuroCup. They are also “built” to win the trophy. Their presence in the ACB is excellent. They are a very difficult opponent. It wouldn’t have happened otherwise; to win the trophy, you have to beat very strong opponents”.
Speaking about his own team, Itoudis added: “Beverly left at the beginning of the season, Motley returned, and Mandar also came. These additions are important. The roster has changed a lot. We worked on Motley returning and Mandar being added to the roster. The dimension and aspect of the team changed completely with these two additions. I had never been to a team in the middle of the season, so for me, it was something new. The team had been built by (Hapoel Tel Aviv current assistant coach) Stefanos Dedas”.