By Achilleas Mavrodontis/ info@eurohoops.net
It’s has been an impressive turnaround for Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon from a 1-2 start in the Basketball Champions League Regular Season to a couple of wins on the road at the beginning of the Round of 16. Head coach Stefanos Dedas talked to Eurohoops about potentially further extending the BCL campaign into the Final 8 and summer talks with Panathinaikos OPAP, among other topics.
“The adjusted Basketball Champions League format seems to have favored us but we faced challenges missing players in the first half of the Regular Season. It wasn’t our fault but with our backs to the wall, we had to win all three games of the second half. I believe we deserved to advance,” he mentioned looking back on the Group C matches versus AEK, Cholet, and Tsmoki-Minsk, “We made it look easy.”
“The Minsk game was key. We controlled it and won,” he added on his side making it through a very tough group, “Facing AEK was crucial as well. I was not happy with AEK’s loss to Cholet because they would likely be more relaxed visiting at 4-0. Also, we were missing C.J. Harris. However, we had energy, played effective defense, and won. At Cholet, we prevailed easily and captured first place.”
Hapoel Holon, part of Round of 16 Group I, enjoys additional attention in Israel by representing the country in FIBA’s premier European club competition.
“This is very important for us,” noted the 38-year-old Greek head coach, “The games are on TV showing fans that our team is making an effort for an extended run at this high level. This helps us improve at the domestic level as well.”
“The team is going through its fourth BCL season and made it this far for the first time,” added Dedas, “Qualifying deems our European campaign successful. That said, we know we have a good team. We play a special kind of game relying solely on ourselves. We won two games on the road and the Final 8 berth is up to us. These groups are tight. We can now afford an off night but we are facing tough opponents in a competitive group. I believe we hold an advantage in progressing to the next stage. The Final 8 looked distant but seems much closer for us.”
He’s been in charge of Holon since late 2019 following a couple of head coaching stints in Turkey. However, joining the Panathinaikos OPAP staff as an assistant under Georgios Vovoras was recently on his radar.
“We initially talked in the summer, because I wanted to join the staff and return as an assistant in EuroLeague,” he said regarding the contact with the Greens, “After six years in the BCL and EuroCup, I would need one season to help me in the future. Head coach Georgios Vovoras selected Thanasis Giaples. After Vovoras exited, Panathinaikos did not approach me. A head coach of my level would require wide approval to take over a team like Panathinaikos. It doesn’t matter if I feel ready to run a EuroLeague team. That would be easy, it’s my job. The difficult part is the approval by the fans. You can’t take over Panathinaikos and don’t deserve to in any other way. I have to keep working for many years to be able to consider such jobs.”
Dedas worked under experienced bosses during his coaching career stretching into its third decade.
“Jure Zdovc influenced me through his mentality stemming from a successful playing career. In my ten years by his side, I aimed to learn from his approach. Under David Blatt, I saw how easy it was for him to motivate everyone around him and learned how to use that approach myself,” he told Eurohoops revealing the two head coaching items he borrowed from Zdovc and Blatt.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League