Papanikolaou calls out EuroLeague for not suspending Milan-Olympiacos game / News - Basketnews.com

Kostas Papanikolaou and his Olympiacos teammates were forced to play a EuroLeague game amid national mourning: "I think that when we live in such moments, we must respect the moment."

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com-Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com-Scanpix

Olympiacos Piraeus captain Kostas Papanikolaou addressed the EuroLeague organization after the Friday game in Milan.

The Greek veteran said EuroLeague had to show more empathy in the midst of national mourning after the horrific train crash in the valley of Tempi, Greece.

A passenger train and a freight train crashed into one another late Tuesday evening, leaving 57 people dead and 25 more critically injured.

"I don't think words are enough to describe what our country is going through in the last hours and days," Papanikolaou told Novasports.gr post-game. "How can we talk about three-pointers, two-pointers, about offensive possessions when there are families who in a split second have lost their most important people?"

Papanikolaou hails from Trikala, Thessaly, a region relatively close to where the tragic accident took place.

"In fact, near my own village, three girls from Kastraki lost their lives. Two families saw all their dreams and futures fade away in an instant occasion. What to say to these people? What can you say? I can't find the words to describe it.

I don't know who is responsible for us to play. This is my personal opinion, but I think that when we live in such moments, we must respect the moment. We have national mourning. It has nothing to do with us losing. Even if we won, I would say the same. You should respect some moments.

The organization [EuroLeague] has shown in the past that it respects such moments, I don't know why it didn't happen this time. This is my personal opinion. It is not some direction of Olympiacos. I speak my opinion as Kostas. I am responsible for my speech and this is what I feel, this is what I want to say," Papanikolaou sent a message.

Olympiacos ended up losing the EuroLeague Round 26 game in Milan, 83-62.

Previously, EuroLeague suspended Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce home games in Round 24 following devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria.

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