Vassilis Spanoulis praises Kostas Sloukas, reveals what he told him after Game 3 / News - Basketnews.com

Vassilis Spanoulis talked about Olympiacos' Final Four campaign, singled out Kostas Papanikolaou, and revealed his words to Kostas Sloukas after his former teammate hit the game-winner in Game 3 vs. Fenerbahce.

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Vassilis Spanoulis is preparing Peristeri for the series against Panathinaikos in the Greek Basket League playoffs, but he'll be also taking a look at what his former team, Olympiacos Piraeus, will be doing in the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four.

Kostas Papanikolaou

Team:Olympiacos PiraeusPosition:SFAge:32Height:204 cmWeight:102 kgBirth place:Trikala, GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

Peristeri face the Greens at OAKA next Monday, while the Reds are squaring off against AS Monaco on Friday night. Since no Greek playoff action has been scheduled until the Final Four is over, Spanoulis will have plenty of time to watch the games.

The 40-year-old coach and EuroLeague legend spoke to Greek radio ERA Sports about Olympiacos' path to the Final Four, Kostas Sloukas' game-winning shot against Fenerbahce in Game 3 and the confidence he has in the team's captain, Kostas Papanikolaou.

"Normally, at this point, I would have been preparing for the Final Four, but now things have changed," Spanoulis said, referring to his glory days as a player.

However, the retired player-turned-coach added he's not bitter because he was "blessed to have been able to participate in so many big competitions and claim so many titles."

Now, he's trying to prepare Peristeri players both physically and mentally for the semi-finals of the domestic championship.

After spending so many years (2010-21) at Olympiacos, Spanoulis said the Reds operate like a family which he's a part of.

"There's a big connection that will stay for a lifetime and now I am proud of the guys, with some of whom we were teammates," he stressed.

Spanoulis singled out the team's captain Kostas Papanikolaou, calling him "a player with experience, who will certainly know what to do in the Final Four. I haven't given him any advice, he knows," the three-time EuroLeague winner continued.

The man also known as 'Kill-Bill' went on to focus on Kostas Sloukas. The two played together from 2011 through 2015 and then again in the 2020-21 season, which was Sloukas' first following his return to the team and Spanoulis' last. They won back-to-back trophies together (2012, 2013), while the 33-year-old point guard also lifted the title with Fenerbahce in 2017.

"I am proud of him," Spanoulis said, revealing that he congratulated his former teammate after Sloukas made the winning shot in Game 3.

"I told him I was proud of him and that shots like that go down in history. Since he first came to Olympiacos, I saw the flame burning in him and the work that he put in on the court," Peristeri's coach recalled.

"He's a very smart player. Being a coach and observing him from afar, what I would do is give him the ball to play the pick' n roll with [Sasha] Vezenkov," Spanoulis argued.

Giorgos Bartzokas chose to do just that in the dying seconds of Game 3 and Olympiacos reaped the benefits.

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