Ataman: “We were prepared for the postponement of the match”

Ergin Ataman emphasized that the assists at the end of the first half and the performance in the third quarter made the difference for Efes against Panathinaikos, he stood on the defense during this period, he praised the performance of Clyburn, he stood on Bryant and referred to his problem Micic on the ankle and that he does not want to undergo surgery.

Analytically:

For the match: “It was a strange game to play in such a situation with tragedies in both countries. Ours was three weeks ago and 50,000 people were lost and for Greece it was yesterday. The Euroleague decided to make the game and we played, though. It was a tough and important match for us and we didn’t start well, but at the end of the first half we found some important shots with Clyburn and Larkin and got back into the game. The third quarter was the ‘key’ to the game for us.

We played well in defense, shared the ball in attack and controlled the game. All the effort of the players counts, because we made a great effort, but I want to focus on the performance of Clyburn, who played like an all star, as well as Larkin, who had 10 assists and was the only point guard today for us.”

For Bryant: “He always takes initiatives and gives us help. If you remember, last year in the Final Four when we didn’t have Beaubois and Simon, just like now when we don’t have Micic, he’s the player who will get more minutes and that’s important for us.”

For Micic: “Micic started doing individual training and therapy. His condition has been better for the past few days. In the next few days, he will join the team training. The problem is, he tried to get in two more times, but both times he stopped with the same ankle problem. And it was a big problem, because there was even a scenario for surgery, but the doctor said that it is not necessary and treatment will follow. He has been a very important player for us over the last two years.”

On whether the match should take place: “First of all about the situations, I want to say that it was impressive that the first help that came was from Greece and Turkish songs were played on Greek television. Believe me that Turkey is next to Greece. For me, the right thing would have been to postpone the game to a better state.

If the Greek government made the decision not to play, we would do so and I informed that even after we had come that if it was decided not to play the match, we would leave on a private flight without any problem. It was a decision of the Greek government and the Euroleague. It had nothing to do with us.”