Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman spoke after the EuroLeague game against Partizan in the 11th round.
Ataman aimed to continue the winning streak with his team in the elite competition but failed, as the opponent was better in a thrilling finish.
“I think we played perfectly for 38 minutes, so I’m happy about that. Then, in the last two minutes, we panicked, we stopped playing defense. Punter scored some baskets; we missed layups and lost energy in the continuation. We deserved to win, we had a better overall index, but they played better at the end,” said Ataman.
About Mathias Lessort and his fatigue
“We talked about it on the bench, he was motivated to play. He asked to continue playing despite the cramps, and I let him play.”
On the players’ reaction to the atmosphere
“Talking about the whole game, I am satisfied. It’s not easy to play like this in this atmosphere, and this will give us a lot of confidence for the upcoming away games. Also, we need to learn how to play in the final minutes. This is our third loss in overtime; we must not give up. We had everything in our hands, we only lost control at the end, and then it’s hard to change players. Unfortunately, tonight we didn’t have the contribution from the most experienced Kostas Sloukas.”
On transfers
“Of course, next season, we will be more powerful in the market because players need to understand that wearing the Panathinaikos jersey is essential. The first goal is to reach the Final Four with this roster. I hope the two missing players will be back in three weeks,” concluded Ergin Ataman.
In the next round, Partizan hosts Monaco, while Panathinaikos visits Anadolu Efes.