By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
On his Euroleague.net blog, Giannis Bourousis of Panathinaikos writes for many topics, however there’s a more than interesting detail about his new coach.
As the Greek center clarifies: “We have a new coach, Xavi Pascual. Some people in Spain say he doesn’t speak good English, but it is not true. He speaks very good English! I don’t know, maybe he took some lessons or something like that. His English is good and everyone wants to have this kind of coach, experienced and ready. I have known Xavi for many years. I played for FC Barcelona in 2005 for a month, just for the playoffs, when he was Dusko Ivanovic’s assistant coach. I have played against Barcelona many times in the last 10 years with him as their coach and we always had a good relationship. The most important thing is that everyone in this team gets along well, Greeks, Americans, everyone. It is good for the team”.
On a more personal note, Bourousis writes about his return to Greece: “I have played outside of Greece for five years, so it is good to be back in Athens! Still, the goal is the same: I have to stay focused, play for the team and practice well like I did in Italy and Spain. When you are in a different country, you don’t have many things to do, so you focus on your family, practices and games – and I want to continue doing that here in Athens. I want to keep the same rule – go to practice and then go back home. I don’t want anything to distract me from basketball just because I am in Athens. I read I was the second player to be in AEK, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos (after Loukas Mavrokefalidis). I am honored that I had the opportunity to play for them, but now I am with Panathinaikos and fully focused on having a great season”.