Men’s National Team General Manager Nikos Zisis was a guest on EEC Web Radio and spoke about his new role in the team, the transition from… athletic pants to a suit, the presence of Giannis Antetokounbo in the national team and both critical shots by Costas Papanikolaou in the first game against Turkey.

He also recalled stories from his career as an athlete with the national team, the World Cup in Japan and the final stage against France in Belgrade 2005.

Detailed information on Nikos Zisis EEC web radio:

How to switch from shorts to a suit: “Basketball is what I do best in my life until recently played a new role. It’s something completely different, but there’s always something in common, the great love especially for the national team. We all know that.” Ethniki is different, it’s not a club and every player who plays or every person who is a member feels a great honor and responsibility.”

How he experienced Papanikolaou’s two shots in the game against Turkey: “Now I’m experiencing what I’ve heard many times before, that when you’re not fighting, it’s a lot more stressful and difficult. When you fight you have no stress at that moment, you have your routine and your fears in preparation and as the time of Yambol approaches but then it was all over and you came in to give what you have and what you don’t.
From the outside they look a bit different but to tell the truth I was sure with Kostas that he will bet them and especially when he bet the first one which is the most difficult I didn’t have the slightest doubt. So in terms of stress, it’s a lot easier to play. To put it graphically, and I think it’s the best example, it’s like you’re driving and you have a passenger and you see him make some movements, reactions and you say, well, calm down because you have the situation His hands. However, the stress I experienced in the 4 games of the National with my new role is… another matter.”

For his new role at the National and the challenges ahead: “It is a great pleasure and honor to work with Ethniki and the main reason why he accepted the invitation I received. Entering the final stages of the season, the main problem is that all the athletes are healthy. From now on is it’s not like that anymore.” Sense of hiding behind the finger when the squad is full, it will be a very strong team, although in the national team is always above any talent the player has the chemistry in the set. All the kids have experience with each other, that’s also an extra motivation for 13 years without much success and in summary I’ll say again that we shouldn’t hide and say that we will only qualify, obviously the team has the potential to do something to achieve great things. Psychology is of course built step by step and day by day: “From the first training session everything will go well and the team will be able to achieve something big in the knockout games, where I take that for granted.”

For the presence of Giannis Antetokounbo in the National: “It is a fact that Giannis has expressed and shown his love for the national team and his desire to help it many times. I consider it a big dream to lead it up. But I want to say something, and it’s not a cliché that it’s not just Giannis, we saw in the last window that Olympiacos and Panathinaikos players did something great by strengthening the team while its teams were playing and in general I see that a good daily life for Ethniki is created and everyone wants it the same, it’s good”.

Whether he “killed” the player from the inside: “The truth is that my decision to quit was 100% conscious. Early last year I might have had some questions as to whether it wasn’t the last, but with a pandemic, empty stadiums, everything became clear. In the last game, of course, when you realize: “When it came to an end, there was a lot of emotional charge, my family was there, lots of friends. But I was very calm, it was a decision that had been made a long time ago.”

For his many years in basketball and on the national team: “It’s no exaggeration to say I’m blessed, I’ve lived it all in basketball. Since 1998 at National Pampadon, aged 15, a friendly tournament, a year before Children’s Eurobasket ’99 in Slovenia. A kid from Thessaloniki I started basketball, which we loved because of the great success of 1987, and I started playing professionally, on first division courts, abroad, in the national teams.
Taking stock and having experienced all of this, there is certainly a lot of emotion and pride there, and I’m not one of those athletes who ended up having second thoughts or regretting something that he didn’t have or that he could have used from him, his time better. “I knew that even when a career went through many ups and downs, I always tried to do my best.”

For his career in the men’s national team: “Certainly Panagiotis Giannakis played a very important role. In 2004 before the Athens Olympics there was a process of change, I will always remember a long period of preparation in Metsovo, with a very hard fight for the 12th team and finally the coach handing over opportunity for some young people, the names are now known as it was then. After that they definitely played a big role and the fact that it came very quickly was a very big achievement for us and made us believe even more in ourselves to be able to do the two successes in a row and end up creating a bunch of that was a pleasure for any Greek basketball player to represent him”.

For the last phase with France in Belgrade 2005: “It definitely left its mark on all Greek basketball, our team and Dimitris I would say more. Although I have analyzed it many times, I will gladly do it again. Theodoris, who was the main spokesman for the last 2-3 minutes Attacks We were sent off in the opening stages and the coach told me, Niko, take the ball yourself. I was shaped by Diao, a smart defender and very athletic, 23-24 years old at the time, a two- Pointer move and with very little chance of success, I did the pivot and a phase that teams often do, a split out, the crack and get the ball out Tony Parker who helped me that he didn’t need me and… alright I insist Dimitris is above everyone at this stage what makes the shot numbers, a very big shot that changed the story a lot and our bunch, that stayed, will stay and makes us all proud”.

For the 2006 World Cup final in Japan: “Yes, it’s the only game of my career that I would like to play again, but to be there I mean. Luckily I was lucky, I didn’t have any serious injuries apart from him and I didn’t miss any important games, but .” I would like to. Maybe we had dej vu from Belgrade, something like saying that we can’t lose the final after beating the Americans because a year earlier after we won the game against the French we didn’t lose the final lost more successful player at FIBA ​​level, in Belgrade we must not forget that he was absent. Only without your star you collect, maybe we had in mind how much they would have endured without him.” Maybe more than the result, by the way we were upset, it was like we didn’t play in the final, we took the opportunity not given”.