Ataman: “I came to PAO for this OAKA, that’s what D. Giannakopoulos wants, it’s time for people not to find a ticket”

THE Ergin Ataman talk about winning (90-76) of Panathinaikou on Virtus Bologna, but also for the “hot” atmosphere at OAKA, deifying, but also… warning the world of “clover”.

He spoke in detail about:

-the victory over Virtus: “We knew Virtus plays good basketball. He came here with six wins in eight games but we had prepared very well in terms of the mental part of the game. Maybe we didn’t have much time to work but we checked the game. In the first quarter we were in control, but in the second Belinelli started hitting incredible shots. My defense was a bit softer and we gave them a chance to get back into the game. In the 3rd quarter we made a lot of mistakes in attack and gave them a chance to regain control. In the end we showed aggression, we changed our strategy in defense against Belinelli and Sengelia. In attack we started to play very intelligently with Sluka and we always found the right passes.

Matias was aggressive and of course Dinos who again played excellently and I think he is one of the best power forwards in the Euroleague. All the players showed dedication. Nan was very good and important in the first half. I am very happy because the stadium had about 19,000-20,000 and this is also a dream of Giannakopoulos. Let’s start winning and have that partnership with the world and play basketball that people will enjoy. We may not always win but I’m sure everyone enjoyed it, especially the last period and the effort the players put in».

– the only foul in the 3rd period: “You can’t play aggressive defense for the whole 40 minutes. But then we changed players, changed our strategy and played more aggressively in defense. But it is correct. That’s how we gave Virtus control of the match».

– Grigonis and his role in the current season: “This year he has a different role, he plays in the “three”. We have two players in this position, Papapetrou is injured and Juancho who gets some minutes in this position is also injured. The plan at the beginning of the season and analyzing our plans, we wanted to put him in the ‘three’. He may have some problems in the physical game but with the formation we can attack with three guards using him in the ‘three’. Sometimes when they put pressure on Sluka and Grant is tired, Grigonis can get the job done and he does it very well. He can play even better. Currently at 60%-70%».

-the “hot” atmosphere at OAKA: “This is the atmosphere that deserves to exist in OAKA. This is the atmosphere that has made Panathinaikos such a club and that is why I came. When I was watching Euroleague, Partizan, Red Star matches, which have a great atmosphere, I was watching OAKA as well. For many years. Now is the time for this atmosphere to continue in all matches and for fans to not find tickets. I had this experience in Ephesus. When I went there were 3,000 fans and the last two matches were all sold out. So it should be the same in OAKA».