Pini Gershon Ranks Top EuroLeague Coaches After Listener's Appeal
Translated & summarized from Israel Hayom by baba
Legendary coach Pini Gershon ranked the top five EuroLeague coaches on a podcast, initially listing Obradović, Bartzokas Martínez, and Pascual. Listener Ofer Yanai's appeal led Gershon to revise the list, adding Pablo Laso and Dimitris Itoudis in place of Pascual and Martínez. Gershon also commented on Xavi Pascual versus Dimitris Itoudis and stated Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Kattash is not yet among his top five.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Pini Gershon revised his top five EuroLeague coaches after a listener's appeal.
- Dimitris Itoudis and Pablo Laso were added to Gershon's revised top five list.
- Xavi Pascual and Pedro Martínez were removed from Gershon's initial top five.
- Gershon stated he would choose Xavi Pascual over Dimitris Itoudis for Hapoel Tel Aviv.
- Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Kattash was not included in Gershon's top five.
- Vasilije Micić was referenced by Gershon when discussing Pascual and Itoudis.
Legendary former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Pini Gershon, speaking on the "Al HaBuzzer" podcast with Ofer Juba Gross, initially named his top five coaches in the EuroLeague. His first selection included Željko Obradović at number one, followed by Georgios Bartzokas Pedro Martínez, and Xavi Pascual.
However, a listener named Ofer Yanai challenged Gershon's list, suggesting Dimitris Itoudis should be included. Gershon acknowledged Itoudis's strength, stating he belonged in the top eight, but ultimately accepted Yanai's appeal due to the difficulty of winning the EuroLeague consistently. He then revised his list, inserting Pablo Laso and Dimitris Itoudis into the top five, replacing Xavi Pascual and Pedro Martínez.
Gershon further elaborated on his coaching preferences, noting that while Itoudis has won the EuroLeague more times than Pascual, he would choose Pascual if Hapoel Tel Aviv needed a coach. When asked for the reason, Gershon cryptically replied, "Ask Vasilije Micić."
Notably absent from Gershon's top five was Oded Kattash, the current coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Gershon confirmed that, in his current assessment, Kattash has not yet reached that elite level.