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LET'S TALK ABOUT DEFENCE

The... beloved subject of coach Panagiotis Yannakis.

You see, everything that Greek team has achieved the past two years, specially after the Olympics of 2004, with Yannakis as coach is because of the defence.

Yannakis managed to give a concrete defensive identity in the champion Europe, Greece from the begining of his second career at the national team. And if you ask why, the answer is here. The Galis and Yannakis era has passed for good for Greece.

Neither Galis will be shown again, neither Yannakis, players leaders, with enormous personality. Greece, contrary to other teams as for example Spain, Germany, Argentina, China but also Brazil does not allocate the player-leader which will, ok, assemble on all the rival defence, will be however the one in which his teammates will entrust difficult shot.

Neither Gasol allocates Greece, neither Nowitzki, neither the giant who is called Yao neither Barbosa. At my humble opinion however it allocates 12 priceless... Nowitzkis that composes a unbeaten team, specifically in the defence.

This sector of the game was the one that led Greece to the conquest of gold medal in Belgrade last September, this will be its power weapon and in the grounds of Japan.

Allocating players that provenly henceforth put their ego under the total good of the team, having henceforth automatisms in her game with defence covering eachothet, control rebounds despite the lack of many sevenfooters and with exceptional abilitie in steals the Greek team resembles with crossword for hard knowers in regard to the opponents that faces Greece.

With the best defensive player of the past two Euroleague seasons Diamantidis, with an... orchestra player like Antonis Fotsis who shows it has henceforth found the role that him suits absolutely in the team, with tough guys like Papadopoulos, Dikoudis and Schortsianitis and with fast guards like Papaloukas, Zisis and Spanoulis Greece resembles it revives the fable of Lerneas Hydra. And is henceforth sought the... Hercules in order to cut all 12 heads...

If my own comments are not enough for you, throw a glance to the numbers. At six of the seven friendly games that Greece gave till now, with the exception of first one against Serbia at Bormio where the players  emanated from a hard preparation and Greece lost accepting her 79 points, defence accepts on average under 60 points. For precision 59! Which team loses therefore when it accepts under 60 points per game in the defence? Rather no one...

Last year in Belgrade Greece suffered all but one defeat, from Slovenia, accepting 68 points. In the remainder six games in which Greece won, its defence had kept it's rivals maximum at 66 points (semifinal game against France), minimum at 50 at games against France and Bosnia at the first round of the tournament. That means an average of 58,3 points at defence! Greek National team therefore it does not apologize... for the defence but with this it is prepared to strike all her opponents. Although the shooting average at the friendly games specially from the free throw line and beyond the arc of three point do not suit in a champion of Europe, the defence is the one that will lead again to star in a big tournament.