SER – Teodosic follows great example of Papaloukas

MOSCOW (Euroleague) - Serbians and Greeks may be rivals when their national teams square off, but enemies they are not when the games are over.

That is obvious when listening to Serbia’s Milos Teodosic speak about his friendship with Greece veteran and former Olympiacos teammate Theo Papaloukas.

The economic crisis in Greece has convinced the 24-year-old Teodosic to leave Olympiacos and seek a new challenge, so last week he took a page out of Papaloukas' book and signed for CSKA Moscow.

Papaloukas had a very successful time at CSKA, a club he played for from the 2002-03 through the 2007-08 campaigns.

In an interview on the CSKA website, Teodosic admits Papaloukas was an example he wanted to follow, even before they became teammates at Olympiacos.

"Absolutely," Teodosic said.

"I always enjoyed watching him play and I am glad that the last three years we were together.

"I was happy when he signed a contract with Olympiacos.

"Theo gave me tremendous help in my career, and this is why I asked (CSKA) for a jersey with the number four.

"I want to show respect for him because over the years, we became close friends.

"Even now, we talk on the phone and he told me good things about Moscow and CSKA Moscow."

When Papaloukas, 34, retires from the game one day, he'll be regarded as one of the all-time greats from his country.

At EuroBasket 2005, Papaloukas helped fire Greece to the gold medal and one year later at the FIBA World Championship, he pulled the strings at the point as Greece stunned the United States, 101-95, in the Semi-Finals, one of the most memorable games in international basketball history.

At CSKA, Papaloukas played for Dusan Ivkovic and then Ettore Messina, two of the best coaches in the history of European basketball.

He won titles in both Russia and the Euroleague.

At the 2006 Euroleague Final Four, Papaloukas was the MVP after leading CSKA to the title and the following year, he was the Euroleague’s regular season MVP.

Papaloukas was all-tournament selections at EuroBasket 2005 and the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

Teodosic says he also owes a debt of gratitude to Ivkovic, his Serbia national team boss and coach at Olympiacos this past season.

"First of all, I can say that I will always remain grateful to Ivkovic, for what he has done for me," Teodosic said.

"At a time when I wasn't showing the best basketball, he has given me more freedom to play, to help as I can.

"It was after the European Championship in 2009, I returned to Olympiacos and had my best season.

"I am sure that all my team-mates would say the same about kind words about him."

When Teodosic told Ivkovic he was moving to CSKA, there was no acrimony.

"He said that I made the right choice," said Teodosic, the Euroleague MVP of the 2009-10 campaign and an all-tournament selection at EuroBasket 2009 and the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

"He told me how to help build a modern club. Ivkovic and I had a wonderful relationship the past four years."

FIBA