Final Four – Stefanos Dedas: “Olympiakos is of better quality but the cup has surprises”

AEK return to Dyo Aorakia to lift the Greek Cup for the third time in four years, with Stefanos Dedas and Dimitris Mavroidis explaining the situation for their team. The Union coach stressed that everyone will be fighting for the Final Four trophy until the very end, noting that the event is always full of surprises.

Initially the Stefanos Dedas stated:

“We would like to express our excitement and pride that we, as AEK, are part of another major sporting event. Especially in Heraklion, where the team has had great moments in recent years, winning the cup twice. This in itself is a motivator and guide for what is to come. It is important to do something nice little by little like Greek basketball to see a Final Four in the future. Both as a coach and as a player we are in the elite, we have to do that organizationally too. We are on a good way.

As far as Olympiakos game goes, everyone knows he’s a favourite. It has a higher quality than us. However, the Cup is the institution of surprises. But we will try to put the pressure on Olympiacos with self-denial and a good plan. It’s not easy, but we’ll do what we can. We came to put Olympiakos in a difficult position“.

When adding: “The Greek Cup is a special motivation, an oasis for us in a very difficult and painful year. We wanted to give perspective to the season, defeating Peristeri gave us a new goal in the season. But that ends here. It’s a game or two. The championship gives you more opportunities and you have time to improve things, while the cup is different because the institution’s time horizon is much smaller. We have an important game tomorrow and that’s it.

I disagree with the feeling that we want to save the year. There are still three or four months until the end. The cup is a good opportunity to show something. The Cup Final Four is a big stop of the year, but we’re not staying here“.

When asked if AEK could play a match like this against Olympiakos a few weeks ago, he replied: “This coin has two sides. If we lose significantly in Liossia it would be in our favor in this case. But I try to keep the positive. At this point, Costas Sloukas showed his quality and level. Yes, the first game can be a guide in terms of tactics, but we keep in mind that we can always become the leader. That’s the meaning of the big team, in every game someone else shows up.

We must also anticipate the factors that can judge the winner at the crucial moment. Maybe we should have switched to Kostas Sloukas in that game, but we didn’t. We’ll see tomorrow what can be done“.

When asked about his team’s absenteeism, he explained: “for us it is no longer news, we smile at the problems. we will see tomorrow morning how our situation is. We all know what happens in the opponent’s camp, the same goes for Olympiacos. I repeat that those who will be present, those who are, will give everything“.

THAT Dimitris Mavroidis he said: “In Heraklion we have very fond memories, we want the good to flourish after 2018 and 2020. We will take as many chances as we have, we will play as AEK and we will give everything. But a game is a game. The Cup has shown that surprises are in store. At the last Final Four we were there together with George Printezis. Maybe he forgot, maybe he’s old (laughs). Health to all, good games and I wish people a lot of fun.

A title says nothing about AEK to save the year. It’s not just about a title. The goal of the team this year was to enter the new stadium and make a fresh start in the squad with lots of new kids.“.