Exclusive statement by Vassilis Spanoulis to SPORT24 after his first win: “We are here to inspire”

Vassilis Spanoulis celebrated his first victory as a coach after Next Generation Team Belgrade defeated Villeurbanne’s K18 team 93-87 in the EuroLeague youth tournament.

Shortly thereafter, Kill Bill spoke exclusively to Sportish from Belgrade about the feelings of his virginal success, but also everything that happens at this special tournament: “You are not a coach when you lose, nor when you win. Basically we are talking about a different situation here, we are talking about small children and a different treatment. We need to inspire them more, help them develop their mentality, their character. That’s the most important thing for me.

Anyway, I had a day or two here, the kids don’t know each other. We lost to a good team yesterday. Villeurbanne are the best team of the tournament along with the Red Star and within hours we were playing with a completely different person and they deserve congratulations.

As I was yesterday when I lost, so am I now. As I was as an athlete, I’m on the bench. No excitement when we win, nor frustration when we lose. I want the children to be happy. I saw them sad yesterday, we all cared about how we played and lost.

For me personally, and not winning again, today was the most important win. The character and the reaction of the players“

Sportish is based in Belgrade, where adidas, the authentic basketball brand, with the #ImpossibleIsNothing mentality, gives young talented European basketball players a chance to shine at the adidas Next Generation Tournament.