Joan Penarroya, head coach of Partizan spoke at the press conference following the Round22 EuroLeague game against Olympiacos.
Olympiacos won 104–66, handing Partizan the third most lopsided defeat in club history. At one point, the visitors held a 45-point lead and had a chance to inflict the heaviest loss ever on the Belgrade side, but that ultimately did not happen.
“Very tough game. We were competitive only in the first quarter. After that, we were late in every situation. We played soft on defense, and our shooting percentage did not help either, it was poor. We were very bad. Our fans and our club deserve more from us. We have to be better than we were tonight,” the Spanish coach said.
Message for the fans?
“For the first time in my life I lost by 40 points, and for the first time in my career I experienced fans supporting the team for all 40 minutes. They deserve more, much more.”
Claim Now A big drop in a short period of time…
“It is clear that the team is in a very bad moment. There are no excuses, hard work is needed, playing together and understanding that the situation is difficult. We have to be at 100 percent in every practice, change our energy and body language in bad situations.
When you play against big teams, it is impossible to compete if you are not at 100 percent. We are also hoping for injured players to return. My job is to change something, there is also responsibility on the players. I am trying to help them improve their confidence and form. We are professionals, everyone has the responsibility to fight and compete better.”
He did not arrive at the best moment.
“If the fans help us for 40 minutes and fight for us, then we must fight for them as well, use fu*king fouls, play tough, and not allow easy points. Olympiacos made a lot of open shots, but in the end many points came from drives. You cannot allow that, you must protect the paint. We have practice tomorrow to prepare for Igokea. I do not regret coming to Partizan, it is an honor to be here.
My mentality is to fight every day to improve. It is clear this was a bad moment, I have never experienced something like this in my career. I am not thinking about resigning. I want to compete, improve, and allow our fans to enjoy the coming weeks. It is impossible to say we have improved since I arrived. It is a process, and clearly at this moment we are not playing at a EuroLeague level. The schedule has also been very tough in recent weeks.”
Bruno Fernando went to the locker room at halftime but returned later.
“He is okay,” Joan Penarroya concluded.
Partizan recorded another heavy defeat (66:104), this time against Olympiacos, extending their losing streak to SEVEN – the longest since returning to the EuroLeague. ❌ pic.twitter.com/ARFd2O5dxL
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) January 14, 2026
INTERVIEWS:
- Jaka Lakovic: Zeljko Obradovic simply puts you into a mode where you constantly think about basketball
- Zlatko Jovanovic: I stand behind my decision, Honved is living its dream and continues to dream!
- Sani Becirovic: Zenit is thinking seriously, and in the next year or two we are aiming for the highest level
- Levi Randolph: I know what the EuroLeague is, and I hope to play at that level again wearing the Zenit jersey
- Zac Seljaas: I’m a unique person, family means everything to me
- Aleksa Avramovic: Defense wins championships – for sure!
- Nenad Dimitrijevic: It’s sad for the EuroLeague and Partizan that Zeljko Obradovic left
- Ilona Korstin: We are in contact with both the EuroLeague and the NBA, we are present in all meetings
- Bogdan Tanjevic: The main difference between Partizan and Crvena Zvezda – domestic players still lead the way
- Nicolo Melli: We had no-phone rules with Zeljko Obradovic; There was interest from Partizan
- Bo McCalebb: How can you not respect Zeljko Obradovic? My only regret is that I didn’t listen to him enough
