Ergin Ataman, coach of Panathinaikos, has already entered fully into the historic rivalry with the other big name in Greek basketball.
His words after the victory over Olympiacos.
“I think that for 36 minutes we played excellent basketball, we dominated the game, despite the terrible three-point percentages. We moved the ball well, Kalaitzakis put pressure on the defense, but in the last four minutes we made defensive errors, we made mistakes when we tried to force the ball under the basket. We deserved to win by a greater margin, but over time we will learn to manage these matches both in the EuroLeague and in the national championship.”
“The team is also playing well in the EuroLeague. We have gained confidence and my players know how to move. Tonight was like playing another EuroLeague game. At the moment, we are much stronger than Olympiacos today. We were even better in this derby in which we played without Sloukas. Then Olympiacos is a great team, who knows what will happen between now and the championship final.”
Then a mini-controversy about the Reds’ Greek players.
“I am proud of Kalaitzakis, we have excellent Greeks. Tonight we played with five foreigners, while Olympiacos had six, plus Walkup and Mitrou-Long. We gave an important defensive role to Kalaitzakis, we have an advantage in the Greek squad.”
2024-01-23 22:05:46
#Ataman #Today #stronger #Olympiacos
