Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman gave his statement after his team’s win against Zalgiris in Round 31 of the EuroLeague.
Panathinaikos needed to bounce back after losing to Olympiacos for the eleventh straight time in the EuroLeague and they had a difficult task ahead of them facing Zalgiris at home. Luckily for the Athens side, they played one of the best games of the year and got a big victory at home, leading to big praise from Ergin Ataman.
That has not usually been the case this season, but Ataman praised his team’s defensive performance and overall control of the game following an important victory, highlighting contributions across the roster, particularly the one of Mathias Lessort, who made his EuroLeague debut this season.
“I think that, except for the first quarter, we played great defense. In the first quarter we didn’t control the offensive rebounds and they scored 27 points. After that, the defense worked very well against Sylvain Francisco particularly. Offensively we used Mathias Lessort very well and he gave us a great contribution, especially with Moses Wright being in foul trouble and out of the game. In the second and third quarters we played perfect basketball.
“Only in the last two minutes, when we were already ahead, Francisco found a great rhythm and made some very difficult shots. He scored about ten points in those final minutes. But in general we controlled the game. Lessort made a great contribution, as did Cedi Osman, and everybody showed hustle. It’s a big victory for the standings because we beat this team in Kaunas,” said Ataman.
Claim Now Ataman was asked about when will his trademark clenched fist come out in victory, and how hard has it been to manage the team amidst all the rumors circulating on social media and in the newspaper. Ataman delivered a direct response:
“You will see my fist only when we win the EuroLeague and the Greek Basket League titles. I already said yesterday in the press conference that I don’t care if we lose some games in the league. Social media is funny. Everyone is saying ‘Ataman out,’ ‘the worst coach in Europe and the world.’ My results are known by everyone. I don’t care. I don’t care what people around me say or want — I only care about the situation inside my team.”
We had a period where we didn’t play good basketball, but tonight I think we played well, especially with Mathias giving such a big contribution. Finally we found again the kind of game that gave us the title in our first year. I’m sorry for the social media people because tonight they cannot talk. Maybe they will find something else. For me, it’s not a problem.”
Panathinaikos now has a 17-14 record and will take on AEK in the Greek Basket League over the weekend before facing Crvena Zvezda at home on March 20th in the EuroLeague.
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