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/

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

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 

Bilietai į B8 Summit 2025 Vilnius renginį:
www.b8summit.com

Mano podcasto palaikymas (Ačiū!!):  
https://www.patreon.com/bmatke

Rėmėjas:  
www.proballers.com

Svetainė:

www.bmatke.com

"Linse":

Šio epizodo svečias yra Linas Kleiza - jo ilgai pristatinėti nereikia. Be šešių sezonų, praleistų NBA, Linas gali pasigirti medaliais, iškovotais su Lietuvos vyrų rinktine 2007ais, 2010ais ir 2013ais metais! Linui teko žaisti ir trijuose Eurolygos klubuose - Olympiacos, Fenerbahce ir Milane.

Šiandien mes su Linu kalbėjom apie jo profesinę kelionę, kokie iššūkiai jo laukė atsidūrus NBA lygoje, ką jam reiškia darbo etika ir kaip išgyventi NBA naujokui. Taip pat aptarėm naują augančią kartą ir kokie iššūkiai laukia tėvų, auginančių jaunus sportininkus naujomis aplinkybėmis - kaip pasikeitusios gyvenimo sąlygos keičia ir žaidėjo mentalitetą, norą nugalėti bei kovoti už būvį.Linas pasidalino asmeninėmis istorijomis iš “savo laikų” ir palygino juos su dabartine situacija krepšinio pasaulyje! Kalbėjom ir apie aistrą motociklams, Lino patirtis būnant sporto direktoriumi Ryto komandoje ir dar daug įdomių istorijų.

Šis epizodas yra unikalus ir labai svarbus išgirsti šiuolaikiniam sportininkui bei jo tėvams. Tėvai išgirs, į ką reikia atkreipti dėmesį auginant vaiką be lepinimo, nors tam galimybių yra kasdien!Labai svarbu dalintis šiuo epizodu ir prenumeruoti mano kanalą tam, kad galėtume pasikviesti daugiau svečių kaip Linas Kleiza! Komentuok bei paspausk 'like' mygtuką, kad algoritmas šį kanalą siūlytų ir kitiems, kam tai aktualu! :)

Topics:

0:00 Intro  4:40 Savęs suvokimas8:30 Pasitikejimas savimi ir branda16:50 NBA naujoko gyvenimas ir darbas19:00 Gyvenimas su traumom ir identitetas28:10 B8 Summit 2025 Vilnius29:20 Motociklas ir adrenalinas32:00 Kaip auginti vaikus ir naują sportininkų kartą46:40 ProBallers.com48:50 Direktoriaus pareigos ir skautingas1:03:40 ATOs

#LinasKleiza #DenverNuggets #TorontoRaptors #NBA #Eurolyga #Krepsinis #Lietuva #NaujaKarta

"Linse" rasite čia:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linaskleiza/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lkleiza 

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

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

Sponsor:  www.proballers.com

"Petteri":

Petteri is a well-known basketball player who was drafted in 2007 by Philadelphia but his rights ended up being traded several times during his career and he never made the final jump. On the contrary, Petteri had an illustrious career in Europe where he played for several high level teams throughout his career (Bologna, Khimki, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and more) and ended up winning several meaningful domestic titles in Germany & Spain. Petteri was known as one of the most accurate shooters in Europe and was twice a member of the unique "50-40-90 club" in Euroleague.

Today, we talked about how he handled being drafted and spending his career in waiting to make it to the NBA, the mindset behind being a draft&stash player, his career challenges, hip issues that lead to retirement, the enjoyment of coaching kids and lessons learned from transferring knowledge to young guys vs coaching pros.

This episode marks my third guest from Finland, after Hanno Mottola and Lassi Touvi have been my guests before. It's another unique episode that talks about the path of a former player to becoming a head coach.

Please share with all players or former players looking to go into coaching...comment, like & share on all social media and audio platforms.

Topics:

0:00 Intro  
2:00 Health issues7:00 Draft & Stash life11:50 Preparation for games14:30 Ending Career19:30 Finnish Basketball Culture27:50 ProBallers.com33:30 Early Coaching Lessons38:00 Coaching Juniors vs Pros43:20 Head Coach mentorship50:00 NBL vs Europe & Next Star Program59:30 New Zealand & Family Life1:11:50 ATOs

#PetteriKoponen #Finland #FinlandBasketball #FCBarcelona #FCBayern #Adidas #NextGeneration #NZBreakers #NewZealandBasketball

You can Find "Petteri" here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petteri.koponen2 

X: https://x.com/KoponenPetteri

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 

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

Sponsor:  
www.proballers.com

"Mikko":

Mikko is the Head Coach of the Swedish Basketball NT and recently qualified with Sweden for the Eurobasket in 2025. He's also the Head Coach of BG Göttingen in the German BBL and is managing both positions at once. Before he joined Göttingen midway through this season, he was the Head Coach of the Swedish top club in Norrköping and won every domestic title there is to win in Sweden. Being only 37years old, it's safe to say that Mikko has a bright future ahead of him.

Today, we talked about how he handles sitting on two high pressure chairs at the same time and how he manages to balance these two jobs and his family time. We also talked about how he handles his staff and the importance of delefation. Also, communication with players during the season as well as recruiting NT players. We also talked about Sweden's basketball system as a whole and much more.

This episode is a premiere episode with a professional from Sweden and is useful on so many levels for so many young coaches. Please share, subscribe, comment & like this episode all over social media. It helps us grow tremendously.

Topics:

0:00 Intro  5:40 History & Balancing Work+Life8:50 Priorities in the Job10:40 Importance of delegating work17:00 Scouting23:30 Handling Staff27:20 Routines & Preparation34:40 ProBallers.com41:00 Sweden Basketball System47:40 Handling two Head Coaching Jobs54:00 Recruiting NT Players58:20 Low-hanging fruit & Purpose1:10:04 ATOs

#MikkoRippinen #Sweden #BGGoettingen #BBL #Eurobasket #FIBA #HeadCoach

You can Find "Mikko" here:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikko.riipinen.9 

X: https://x.com/mikkoriipinen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikko-riipinen-729a89166/ 

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 

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

You can Find "Jamion" here:

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamion.christian 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamion-christian-683b54208/ 

X: https://x.com/JamionChristian 

Sponsor:  
www.proballers.com

"Jamion":

Jamion Christian is an experienced coach with 280+ games as a Head Coach at the NCAA level as well as the pros. Jamion has been a Head Coach at Mount St Mary's, Siena & George Washington. Last year he joined Pallacanestro Trieste as their Head Coach in the 2nd division of the Italian league and he managed to promote the team right during his first season in Italy. This year he already took the team to the Italian Cup semi-finals and I'm sure there is a lot more success ahead of him.

Today, we talked about Jamion's story of how he got from the NCAA to becoming a pro coach in Italy. Find out how his podcast guest eventually become his GM in Italy as well as what shaped Jamion in his past for him to become a successful Head Coach going forward. We also talked about the early challenges of adapting to a new culture and some early mistakes that he had to learn the hard way.
This podcast episode is special because we never met in person before and vibed right from the beginning. You can hear the competitive spirit in Jamion's blood and how he had to overcome early criticism before proving everyone wrong along the way. Beautiful story that people need to hear!

Please comment & like this episode and share it with friends & colleagues across the globe, it helps this pod to grow even faster.

Topics:

0:00 Intro
2:50 Who is Jamion Christian?
5:40 Importance of parents? 12:30 Cultural communication differences21:00 Value of the visa in LegaDue25:20 How did you want to coach?28:20 Cultural Coaching & Leadership35:00 Do you have the capacity?41:30 Endurance for the battle45:55 ProBallers.com52:40 Early challenges as a coach59:00 Negative Self-Talk & Challenges1:09:00 Using "Pain" & Podcasting1:18:00 ATOs
#JamionChristian #TriesteBasketball #LegaBasket #Italy #HeadCoach #Basketball

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/

Website: https://www.drcherimah.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmatke3

www.bmatke.com 

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

You can Find "Dr. Mah" here:

Website: https://www.drcherimah.com

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

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcherimah/ 

X: https://x.com/drcherimah

Sponsor:  www.proballers.com

"Dr. Cheri Mah":

Dr. Mah is a highly respected sleep physician and n Adjungt Lecturer at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center. Amongst high level athletes and sports franchises she's regarded as a sleep expert with a focus on benefits of sleep for Athletes in particular. Some of the clients she worked with in the past are Andre Iguodala, the Golden State Warriors from the NBA, San Francisco Giants from the MLB, Pittsburgh Steelers & Philadelphia Eagles from the NFL, San Jose Sharks from the NHL and many more.She's also currently a sleep expert for Under Armour and served on the performance council at Nike in the past and worked with companies such as ESPN, Gatorade & many more.

Today, we talked about all things sleep. Dr Mah gave extensive examples on the benefits of sleep as well as the dangers of under-slept athletes. We talked about the small things athletes can do in order to prepare themselves for journeys across timezones. Certain things you can do before, during and after your sleep. 

Did you know that bringing your own pillow from home already helps getting a better night of sleep? Did you know that the snooze button is not good? Did you know that your FT percentage, reaction time & speed in general suffers if you are under-slept? Do you know what "Sleep Debt" means? What is a "Nappuccino"? These topics and many more we discussed in this very unique and insightful episode!

Topics:

0:00 Intro5:20 Sleep Window & Sleep Debt16:05 Nappuccino   24:06 Timezones & Jetlag31:53 First night in new bed35:53 "NBA Schedule Alert" Project42:00 What can coaches do?49:15 Gaining player's trust52:00 Andre Iguodala's sleep journey56:30 Calm down routine after games1:04:15 Does supplementation help?1:07:45 "Napspressos"#DrCheriMah #DrMah #SleepDoctor #SleepPhysician #Sleep #Benefitsofsleep

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 

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

Sponsor:  

"Gigi":

Gigi Datome is a household name in Italian basketball and his journey is a phenomenal one. Coming from a small island (Sardinia) in Italy to playing in the NBA, winning the Euroleague (2017) and being the captain of the national team of Italy.

Today, we talked about his journey as a player and the challenges he went through before going to the NBA as well as during his NBA career, his exciting times in Boston with the Celtics as well as his glorious years with Fenerbahce. We touched on how he dealt with going through slumps, his routines as well as his interests off the court.

This episode is another instant classic especially for the players approaching retirement and the ones that just retired and are looking for directions.

Topics:

0:00 Intro  

#GigiDatome #Gigi #NBA #BostonCeltics #Fenerbahce #Milano #ItalyBasketball 

You can Find "Gigi" here:

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

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

X: https://x.com/GigiDatome 

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