On Friday morning, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides received the Olympiacos Piraeus basketball team at the Presidential Palace. European champion Olympiacos will participate in the international tournament “Neophytos Chandriotis,” which will take place on September 11 and 13 at the “Tassos Papadopoulos–Eleftheria” arena in Nicosia. Also participating in the tournament are Red Star, Aris Thessaloniki, and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Today’s schedule includes the Aris Thessaloniki vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv game at 6:00 p.m., at 7:45 p.m. the Special Olympics basketball team’s game, and at 9:00 p.m. the Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Red Star match.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
On Sunday, September 13, at 3:45 p.m., Aris Thessaloniki will face Red Star, and at 6:00 p.m., Olympiacos Piraeus will face Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“I want to make it clear from the start, so there’s no misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what I’m about to say, that I’m an Olympiacos fan—a proud Olympiacos fan—and I follow the team,” said the President, welcoming the Olympiacos Piraeus delegation.
The delegation presented the President of the Republic with two team jerseys, one of which was autographed.
“We’re proud that you’ve come to Cyprus, we are proud that through this tournament, Cypriots will get to see basketball stars and the team that won its fourth European title against Real Madrid,” he noted.
As President Christodoulides mentioned, Cyprus began getting involved in basketball in 1987, when Greece won the European Championship. “Since then, we’ve been investing in sports—an investment we view primarily as an investment in our country’s next generation,” he said.
“I’m pleased that recently, as a government, we invested 17 million to upgrade our infrastructure. We hosted one of the EuroBasket groups in Cyprus,” said the President.
“Until the SEF is ready, if there are any objections from AEK Athens (note: Olympiacos has agreed to play at their stadium), coach, you can use the arena in Limassol,” said the President, addressing Giorgos Bartzokas.
“The reason we invested all this money was because we believe it’s an investment in the next generation of our country,” he noted.
“I want to tell you that my all-time favorite basketball player is Charles Barkley. Back then, if we wanted to see quality basketball, we’d go watch the NBA. Today, I believe that to see quality basketball, you have to watch the EuroLeague, and I’m glad that you get to see Greek teams,” said the President of the Republic.
He congratulated the coach “for all the work you do,” adding that “despite my busy schedule, I’ll be at the arena at 9 p.m. tonight to watch you play.”
“We’ve come to Cyprus several times for this wonderful tournament for a wonderful cause. We are very happy to be here as European champions,” said Nikos Lepeniotis, General Manager of Olympiacos BC.
“I’d like to express the gratitude of our presidents, Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos. They asked me to invite you, so if you’d like to see the team up close, please come to the newly renovated SEF, which we hope will be ready very soon and will be one of the best arenas in Europe,” he noted.
“We feel the fans’ love every time we come to Cyprus. We spend a few days filled with great emotion, and as long as the tournament continues and as long as we’re able to come, we’ll be here,” he concluded.
For his part, Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas, thanked the President for the welcome and invited him to Athens to watch an Olympiacos game and return the hospitality.
Source: KYPE
