Olympiakos’s Euroleague basketball win shows Greeks can ‘reach the peak,’ says President Papoulias
Greek President Karolos Papoulias and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras congratulated Olympiakos Piraeus for retaining basketball’s Euroleague title on Sunday night.
The Reds beat Real Madrid 100-88 in the final at London’s O2 arena to hold on to the title of Europe’s best basketball team. The Piraeus side’s victory means that Greek sides have won the Euroleague for the last three seasons in a row.
“From the bottom of my heart, congratulations to Olympiakos for its second consecutive European title and for filling everyone with pride,” said Samaras in his statement.
Papoulias chose to draw parallels between Olympiakos’s victory, which came after serious budget cuts in Greek basketball, and the country’s general plight as a result of the economic crisis.
“Your great success in a top European club competition for a second consecutive year is a big example for all of us that with methodical work, dedication to the target and, above all, faith in our strengths we can reach the peak,” said Papoulias in a telegram to the team.
“On behalf of all Greeks, a big thank you.”