THE Thomas Wokhap is getting ready for another Final Four with Olympic At Euroleague and stressed that this time he and his teammates should appear as … killers to win the title in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to Nova about the presence of his team in the Euroleague Final 4 in Abu Dhabi, Thomas Wokapa commented on the first game against Monaco, while saying Olympiacos’ “soldier”.
Wokapa’s statements
“In the first year we qualified for the Final Four, we had a completely wrong spiritual approach. It was like saying “we’ve already achieved something important”. The second time, it was up to us, but we didn’t finish the job. On Tuesday, in a row, we were not ready to control Real. We believed it was a better team, we tried to find good opportunities, but the bottom line is that when you go to a Final Four, it must have a “killer” mentality. It is not often the case, to give you basketball another chance. It is extremely rare to go four times in a Final Four and do it as one of the favorites. And many would do everything to be in the position of Olympiacos. Let’s go as “killers” this time. There is no way they will … give it to us.
To be honest, there are no injustices in history. After all, in my second season in the team, I thought we were a better team when we lost to Real in the final. I feel we should have won, but in the end you are … what you get. This is the truth. Many teams end the season and say that “we were the best team” without winning the trophy. It doesn’t matter, then, if you think you are the best team or have the best numbers, the best scorers, if you don’t conquer the trophy. So it’s a new opportunity or a different opportunity, the goal, always, is to win Euroleague.
I will always be an “soldier” of Olympiacos! With or without titles, I will be a soldier. On the day I retire, I want to be satisfied. I know that fans are waiting for titles, presidents, coaches and we players themselves. Saying that you have a successful career without winning Euroleague will be wrong.
It takes good balance. Anyone in extreme emotional state does not win. You must always have self -control of your emotions, you must not be too high or low. But the game can run quickly. It starts, and if you are not ready in a series in the game, it can make a difference.
I do not feel that I am more important than my teammates and anyone else. And this is true for everyone. From me to Sasha. Different salaries do not matter. At the end of the day it counts whether you are a European champion or not. The world alone will remember. If you are the most important player, but you do not have the title of Euroleague, you are just not a champion. For this reason, we are all the same. To achieve your goal or to fail.
Monaco is very strong, it will have good training, it will be extremely prepared. He will play hard, loudly score big shots. We have a big test in front of us and so does them. It will be … stupid to do something different. We know who we are. Our coach has so many successes because he believes in our system. It will be … stupid to “erase” all this for the Final Four. We have a fantastic system, we believe in it, our progress is great and we need to apply it to our highlights of pressure. “