By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A few hours after Olympiacos officially reunited with Sasha Vezenkov, the 28-year-old forward alongside team owners Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos held a press conference in the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
“The goal is to reach the top. With a few words and a lot of work. I am happy to be back with all of you, to rejoin my old teammates and the new players,” Vezenkov previewed the next edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and domestic competitions in Greece.
Vezenkov, 28, was waived by the Toronto Raptors after being traded by the Sacramento Kings earlier in the offseason. Looking to return to the Reds, as reported by Eurohoops in early July, he signed a lucrative five-year contract, as announced on Thursday.
“I want to thank, first, these two gentlemen here with me. Without them, my return would not be possible. I want to thank the fans that were here in the middle of the summer in this heat and all those that were not able to come,” he said.
“I was happy that the fans were cheering for me in the NBA,” he praised the support from Olympiacos loyals throughout the 2023-24 season with the Kings. Limited to 42 appearances and 12.2 minutes per game, he averaged 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest.
A warm welcome from fans gathering at SEF added to the joyful atmosphere.
“It is a great pleasure to be here with 2,000 people outside. A tremendous reception to us and Sasha,” mentioned team co-owner Panagiotis Angelopoulos, “Vezenkov is the best player in Europe. He went to the NBA as the best player in Europe. He has won and will continue winning championships with Olympiacos for the next five years.”
“Sasha is an exceptional athlete, but besides his professional and sports talent, he is a person with values and ideals that match ours,” added his brother and co-owner Giorgos Angelopoulos.
Kostas Sloukas
Moving to questions from reporters, the discussion went to Kostas Sloukas citing lack of respect from the owners of Olympiacos.
“He is a player that Olympiacos gave him everything. We signed him from Mandoulides. We supported him. We believed in him. I think his quote was illogical. Perhaps he was confused or pressured. I initially believed he would apologize or retract his statement because we never talked about anything,” mentioned Giorgos Angelopoulos.
“He arrived at our meeting with a slight delay. I believe we talked for four hours. And he left,” he recalled the final talks between the team and Sloukas before the 34-year-old combo guard moved to the opposite side of the eternal derby and Panathinaikos Aktor, “He then told reporters that we had a constructive discussion. And after two days, he departed the team.”
“That was it. How can he talk about a lack of respect? It does not make sense. I guess he has already regretted the statement,” wondered Giorgos Angelopoulos.
“We never disrespected Sloukas,” added Panagiotis Angelopoulos, “He helped Olympiacos. He contributed to the history of Olympiacos. He devalues himself with such comments.”
Dimitris Giannakopoulos
Replying to further questions, the Angelopoulos brothers also commented on Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos.
“We moved on from being toxic to illegal or other actions that are dangerous when coming from presidents and owners of teams,” mentioned Giorgos Angelopoulos, “Sanctions and fines were issued. However, they do not matter. If somebody is punished and prohibited from attending Game 5 (Stoiximan Basket League Finals) but he enters anyway and nothing happens, the game starts as normal. These things are dangerous and against sports.”
“When Dimitris Giannakopoulos came to SEF to attend the derby, we greeted him. We revealed our intentions and how we believe games should be held. This did not continue in the same context,” added Panagiotis Angelopoulos.