B8 Summit Website:

www.b8summit.com

If you want to support this podcast (Ačiū!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

Sponsors:

www.creapure.com

www.proballers.com

"Giannis":

Giannis is a highly accomplished Head Coach in the Euroleague who was at the helm of Olympiacos Piraeus & Maccabi Tel Aviv and currently is the head coach of Red Star Belgrade. He has won numerous domestic titles with each team and has also experience as an Assistant Coach with the Greek National Team.

Today, you will hear/watch Giannis and me having a conversation about his experiences as a head coach in different cultures and the challenges of finding common ground. We also talked about leadership and what it means to Giannis as well as career-advice, managing coaching staff and much more!

Please Share with friends & colleagues...comment & like this episode on YouTube as well as other platforms!

This is another live video from the B8 Summit in Vilnius from July 8th 2025.

Topics:

0:00 Intro

1:10 Creapure

6:10 Professionalism & Role of Assistants12:00 Normal vs Exceptional 15:57 Cultural Communication22:00 Managing Management26:30 Relationship with Fans33:30 Career Advice38:30 Managing Coaching Staff

45:30 Video Responsibilities

49:50 Leadership54:45 Freedom vs Structure

#RedStarBelgrade #Euroleague #Champion #HeadCoach #Leadership #Communication #Cultures

Finding “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bw5UJNSQLKo0wUybEIza3

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-benas-podcast

…or visit www.bmatke.com to find more info.

Comment, Like & Share here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bmatke/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmatke3

www.bmatke.com

B8 Summit Website:

www.b8summit.com

If you want to support this podcast (Ačiū!!):

https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

Sponsors:

www.proballers.com

"Baio":

Daniele is a long-time friend of mine and a highly successful basketball front office executive in Europe. Daniele started his career as a journalist and worked his way up to become widely known as the best expert in his field as the sports director in Eurolegue clubs. After working for Brose Bamberg & FC Bayern Munich, he currently started his new venture with Olimpia Milano. Prior to becoming a sports director in Bamberg he was working as international scout for the Detroit Pistons. Most recently he spent his time consulting the Brooklyn Nets with draft prospects and potential free agents from Europe.

Today, we had a wide-ranging conversation of his experiences at different levels and Daniele shared the lessons he learned in his role with the Euroleague clubs as well as learning from the best in Detroit, i.e. Joe Dumars. We spoke about the communication challenges he had to face when he had to juggle the head coach and the president during the season as well as plenty of other situations that arise which required insightful decision-making. A truly unique mind.

Please Share with friends & colleagues...comment & like this episode on YouTube as well as other platforms!

Topics:

0:00 Intro

2:10 First tasks at Olimpia Milano11:30 Michelangelo Effect

16:50 Biggest sacrifice

20:00 Challenges as a young professional

26:05 Communication Triangle

35:00 Observing Practices

39:20 Program Development / Impact

44:20 Q&A

#OlimpiaMilano #Euroleague #Milano #ItalyBasketball #Italy #Bamberg #Munich #FCBayern #SportsDirector #Management #FrontOffice

Finding “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bw5UJNSQLKo0wUybEIza3

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-benas-podcast

…or visit www.bmatke.com to find more info.

Comment, Like & Share here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bmatke/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmatke3

www.bmatke.com

Vincent Collet is a house-hold name in the world of European Basketball...especially when it comes to FIBA competitions. Vincent's achievements with the French National Team are second to none! His teams won 4 Eurobasket medals, 2 world cup medals & 2 Olympic medals between 2011 - 2024. His success with the national team is as unique as it gets and rich of experiences of working with stars at the highest level.

Vincent came to Vilnius on July 8th to talk about different topics surround his success as well as the youth system in France when players get developed through the federation's program at INSEP.

Today's Topics:

0:00 Intro

3:40 Kinexon

6:20 Working with the Cleveland Cavaliers

16:30 INSEP & National Team

28:24 New Generation / Mindset

34:00 Criticism & Communication

40:00 Benching Rudy Gobert

45:00 Q&A

B8 Summit Website:

www.b8summit.com

The Benas Podcast:

www.bmatke.com

#VincentCollet #fiba #FrenchBasketball #Communication #France #INSEP

Kostas is a long time friend of mine and a 3x Euroleague champion in his own right and currently the Head of Performance at Olimpia Milano. He last worked at Fenerbahce since 2022 under Dimitris Itoudis and later Sarunas Jasikevicus and recently signed with Ettore Messina's team in Milano!

He started his career in Europe at Olympiacos in 2006 and has been rolling through Europe ever since!Kostas is the best expert in his field of athletic performance and conditioning for athletes, he also worked with athletes such as Theo Papaloukas and Sofoklis Schortsanitis in the past. He came to Vilnius on July 8th to talk at the B8 Summit 2025 about his field and covered a variety of topics from his field. We talked about the general problematic in all clubs when it comes to communication after injuries occur as well as the mechanics of an achilles injury and much more, check it out!

Today's Topics:

0:00 Intro

1:10 ESCCA Summit

2:50 Sacrifice for Achievement

9:20 Decision-making process / Information

18:30 Load Managment during season

24:30 Injury Peak-times / Summer Load

32:30 Achilles Injury / Mechanics

36:45 Chain of commands after injury

44:30 Q&A

Find Kostas Chatzichristos here:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kostas_chatzichristos/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/kostas.chatzichristos.2025 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kostas-chatzichristos-a85ab53/ X: https://x.com/kostaschatz Website: https://kostaschatzichristos.com/ ESCCA: https://escca.net/about-us/

B8 Summit Website:

www.b8summit.com

The Benas Podcast:

www.bmatke.com

#KostasChatzichristos #b8summit #basketballsummit #Vilnius #Lithuania #Basketball #podcast #conference #Growth #learning #conversations #ArmaniMilano #Euroleague #EuroleagueChampion

Ibon Navarro:

Ibon Navarro is a highly accomplished Head Coach in Europe and today he came to our summit in Vilnius to talk about the culture he created in Malaga, Spain! The two time King's Cup & back to back BCL championship coach has a lot of experience already and today we spoke about his practice habits as well as the habits he expects from his players. How the team culture is supposed to impact and help new players adapt easier and much more.

Today's Topics:

0:00 Intro

2:10 Sleep & Off Season

5:00 BCL Back to back process

12:00 Alex Ferguson Quote

14:20 James Clear Quote / Habits

19:30 Information gathering / Recruitment

22:50 Impact of culture

25:15 Unconventional Practices

32:00 Lessons from the past

35:30 Substitution pattern

42:00 Q&A

Find Ibon Navarro here:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ibon.navarro76/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/ibontxun

B8 Summit Website:

www.b8summit.com

The Benas Podcast:

www.bmatke.com

#b8summit #basketballsummit #Vilnius #Lithuania #Basketball #podcast #conference #Growth #learning #conversations #Unicaja #Malaga #BCL #Champion

If you want to support my podcast (Ačiū!!): https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

Sponsor:
www.proballers.com

"Sani Boy":

Sani is a well-known former player as well as highly respected personality because of his positive attitude and mindset. Sani was drafted by the Denver Nuggets and played an incredible 20years as a professional, winning his first Euroleague title in 2007 with Panathinaikos. After numerious domestic titles and junior MVPs and All Star appointments he decided to go into the front office after a short stint as an Assistant at PAO...and ends up winning another Euroleague titles with Panathinaikos in 2024.

Today, we talked about Sani's trials and tribulations with his 13 knee surgeries that he had to go through, what he had to live through after almost not being able to walk and his path out of the dark places. Sani also talked about his daily life and work structure, what he looks for in players as well as politics and communication behind the scenes.

This episode was very emotional for Sani and a rather unique and rare conversation about the struggles of a pro-athlete who has to recover from his injuries.

Topics:

0:00 Intro & Lithuania
2:45 Knee surgeries & mindset
9:40 Draft & Stash
14:00 Influence of a father
21:40 Coaching & Agent Experience
27:15 Learning curve as an executive
35:06 ProBallers.com
39:30 Communication
48:50 Evaluating practices / arguments
54:00 Changes
57:30 Qualities of players
1:00:40 ATOs

#SaniBecirovic #Panathinaikos #FrontOffice #Champion #Athens #Euroleague #Greece

You can Find "Sani" here:

X: https://x.com/SaniBecirovic

Finding “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bw5UJNSQLKo0wUybEIza3

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-benas-podcast

…or visit www.bmatke.com to find more info.

Comment, Like & Share here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmatke3

www.bmatke.com

If you want to support my podcast (Ačiū!!):
https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

Sponsor:
www.proballers.com

"Guillaume":

Guillaume is making a name for himself in France and this is just the beginning. After being the Head Coach at Vichy for numerous years he won the Leader's Cup of the ProB in 2024 and was appointed the head coach of LeMans the following season where he also managed to the Leader's Cup of the ProA in his first season. Meanwhile, Guillaume also won 2 gold medals in a row with the French u20 team in the FIBA u20 Eurobasket in 2023 & 2024.

Today, we talked about a variety of topics that involved his experiences with the French u20 team as well as his style of leadership. I addressed the improvement of the English language within the French basketball community as well as the culturally diverse French ProA. Guillaume also talked about the importance of terminology and how to incorporate young talents into the pros. Also some tactical nuances like the 'tagging up' system and more.

It's very important for this podcast to continue to grow and your activity is very important in all this. Please share, like and comment so the YT algorithm will be prompted to help us too :)

Topics:

0:00 Intro
2:00 English language in France
3:30 Culturally diverse French league
10:00 Effort oriented culture
16:00 Back to back gold with France u20
23:15 Terminology & Transition to pro
27:30 Personal growth & Coaching staff
36:45 ProBallers.com
38:00 "Tagging Up" system
44:00 Scouting vs Self-scouting
46:10 Sources for scouting players
54:00 Decompressing
55:50 Vincent Collet specialties
1:00:25 ATOs

#GuillaumeVizade #FrenchBasketball #Franceu20 #FIBA #LeadersCup #LeMans #ProA

You can Find "Guillaume" here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guillaume_vizade/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guillermo.bill.william

X: https://x.com/GuillaumeVIZADE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillaume-vizade-b054a446/

Finding “The Benas Podcast”:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bw5UJNSQLKo0wUybEIza3

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-benas-podcast

…or visit www.bmatke.com to find more info.

Comment, Like & Share here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bmatke/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmatke3

www.bmatke.com