“ Both PAOK played the role of MVP”

The wind in Greek volleyball shifted from south to north. He went from the European title of Olympiacos to PAOK winning the Greek Cup.

In this sudden provenance, the Thessalonians had the strong lead, Alexander Raptis. The 23-year-old – who is in his first season in Dikephalos – “gassed” the red-white defense with 28 points in the cup final, took PAOK’s hand and led them to the crown.

He was the main protagonist of the match and MVP of the Kalamata event. In his interview with SPORT24, he narrowly accepted this title. He took a step back and pointed at his team mates, his coach and said “The whole PAOK team is working like the best player”.

“A good day for PAOK wasn’t just the final. We had bad days before and now we have good days. This match came after months of effort. We have a lot of goals and we don’t stop in this cup.

Of course we are very happy with this victory. Although that joy will last for a while, because we keep going. This is our business. The celebration goes on for a while. We are used to it and have learned to work at it.

Each title has its own sweetness, but—as it happens in our lives—the joys last as long as we let them last. In this case, the team must stay focused because the next goal is at hand. The tournament is onhighlighted Alexandros Raptis, who has a magical 76% in attack and three aces.

The title is worthy of Milenkoski’s faith in us

He particularly noted justified Jusko Milenkoski’s loyalty to the Doubleheader players and noted that the cup is a separate chapter from the tournament. “I don’t think winning the cup is a message, or at least I don’t have a message to report now. I can’t think of anything. The title is worth the team and the effort they put in. It’s worth the effort of the coach and the faith he’s shown in us.”

We cannot say that winning the cup can mean anything for the league, because the matches that follow are completely different. For example, we played Panathinaikos seven times and no game was like the other. Every day is special, just like every match. And derby competitions – no matter how similar they are, even if the result is the same – are different games from each other and they always have a different approach from us.

Commenting on the greatly improved performance of his team, as well as the fighting ability he showed in cup matches, he affirmed: “PAOK will never want to give up something, whether it’s a game or chasing all the balls. We didn’t just see this in the last cup final. This will also apply from Monday when training starts again. That’s the character of our team.

I loved my team. I loved her teamwork. I really like that we all contribute to something like what we have now by winning the cup. It was something unique, I thank them very much and I want to continue with this face in the next matches.”

Our teamwork is what led to the result

Alexandros of the team barely accepted the Finals MVP title and accompanying “maybe” for his proposal, even though by all accounts his performance was stellar and almost infallible (he only had one fault).

“I don’t want to say I’m the best player in the Final Four. Let’s say I’m the best player in the final, maybe … For example, in the previous match our best player was Dan Dries, and tomorrow it will be another player. Sometimes our coach makes the difference. I want to congratulate my team because the entire PAOK team played MVP. Our teamwork is what led to the result. In any case, you won’t get the MVP title if you don’t have very good teammates to help you out.

I also heard a very nice comment that volleyball is one of the fairest sports because the best always wins and I’m glad we were the best in this final and we want to do it again. We know it’s not easy. The team’s motto is that the effort is from Monday to Saturday and that we don’t let a ball drop.

This is how volleyball is played and this is how we will continue to play it. There is passion, we want to win. Otherwise, we won’t play.

Such titles help psychology, you must agree. Of course, PAOK has shown that it can handle both gains and losses and we will continue to do so“.