Grigonis on sport-fm.gr: “Happy to be here and to win – Now it will be seen what kind of team we are”

THE Panathinaikos AKTOR continue with… pressed “throttle” on Euroleagueafter breaking up the Valencia with a score of 90-73 and achieved his fourth consecutive victory in the event.

His little stone in this result was also put by Marius Grigonis, who scored 11 points, collected 4 rebounds and dished out 2 assists, hitting 3 of 4 three-pointers he attempted. In fact, 8 of his points came in the fourth quarter, when the Spanish they tried to come back from -22 but he wouldn’t let them.

The Lithuanian, the only foreigner who remained in the OAKA since last season, he has developed into a pivotal part of his ensemble Ergin Atamaneven though in the summer it seemed that he too would have the same fate as those who continued their careers elsewhere.

The sport-fm.gr spoke with the 29-year-old guard/forward, who cited the first quarter and the many 3-pointers in that span as “key” to the win against Valenciawhile he commented on his own performance and the difficult schedule that follows.

In detail what he said to Alexandros Tsirigotis:

First of all, congratulations on the important victory. Do you think it was the team’s best performance this season?

“I don’t know, the truth is that Valencia was worse than I expected, because I know they can play much better and especially in defense. We turned the ball over, hit some threes and felt very confident. Of course, the zone shocked us a bit and we struggled with that. Was it our best game? I don’t know, but it was definitely a very good performance.”

You scored 90 points against the team that had the fewest passives in the EuroLeague, averaging just 73.1 points. How did you do it?

“That’s right, we played well but Valencia was not as aggressive as it should have been. The first quarter with a lot of three-pointers helped us as we scored a lot from long range. Then we found our rhythm, we had a flow in our game and our opponents started to make mistakes, which we took advantage of.”

Last year was a difficult season for both the team and you personally. How do you feel now that coach Ataman trusts you as a starter and you return it?

“I don’t know if I’m giving it back (s.s. laughs). But that’s what sport is like, a journey with many “ups and downs”. The same fans who were on the field today cheered us on last year. The key is to first prove to yourself that you can play well. Now that Papapetrou and Juancho are injured I’m getting more minutes, we’ll see what happens in the future, but obviously I’m happy to be here and that we’re winning.”

Until the end of the first round, Panathinaikos AKTOR has 7 matches, 5 of which are away from home. Are you ready for this challenge?

“That’s exactly where the difference between a good and a great team can be seen. Merely good teams only win at home, while great teams can win the double. It’s time to show what kind of team we are.”