Sasha Vezenkov about Papanikolaou: 'We listen to him like our dad' / News - Basketnews.com

Sasha Vezenkov compared Papanikolaou's role at Olympiacos to dad's position in the family.

Credit: Tolga Adanali/GettyImages Credit Tolga Adanali/GettyImages

Olympiacos Piraeus forward Kostas Papanikolaou was named the Player of the Game after shining in his team's 85-92 win at Valencia Basket, as the 32-year-old tied his EuroLeague career high of 22 points and kept the Reds in the competition's driving seat.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Kostas Papanikolaou Points 22 Accuracy 8-10 Rebounds 4 Assists 3

"Kostas is a player who has heard a lot in Greece. Everyone within two weeks becomes the best and the worst here. As long as I see him since 2010, he has always been a steady player," Sasha Vezenkov praised his teammate, via Novasports.gr.

"He has grown up a lot. We listen to him like our dad," the EuroLeague MVP contender added.

Having won back-to-back EuroLeague titles with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013 in the early stages of his career, Papanikolaou plays a major role in Georgios Bartzokas' system.

On Friday night, Papanikolaou personified Olympiacos' resilience and the ability to win games in the face of adversity, as the Reds only hit top gear after twice falling 15 points behind in the first half.

"What matters most is the win. This is what will make us happy at the end of the season, if we keep winning and put ourselves in a great position," Papanikolaou said in a flash post-game interview.

"It was a very tough game, a very tough crowd; they know their basketball. Personally, I love playing here. I have great memories of playing here. If you win the memories are better, but as I said before, it's a great place to play. The fans here know how to create a great atmosphere."

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