Ataman: “Grigonis will try to enter, we have no alternatives in his place”

A dangerous opponent characterized Villeurbanne o Ergin Ataman just before getting on the plane to travel to France for his showdown Panathinaikos AKTOR.

The Turkish coach referred to the data of the match and how these have been shaped after the defeats in the last games, while he also spoke about Marius Grigonisemphasizing that he will try to enter training.

At the same time, he underlined that Juancho Hernangomet return in 5-6 weeks, however, he indicated that he will help significantly with his experience on defense.

In detail, Ergin Ataman’s statements:

“This is the EuroLeague. Sometimes he can have a winning streak, but you can also have a losing streak. We don’t care what happened in the previous 2-3 matches, this is a different match, a EuroLeague match. Maybe Villeurbanne is not in the best position, but watching their games, I see that they are a dangerous team, they show it in every match, with the exception of the match against Valencia. In every match they play until the end, for example against Maccabi they lost in the last possession. It will be a difficult and important game because we want to start winning again».

What Panathinaikos AKTOR must do to come back: “We have to be careful, especially in the last part of every race. In many matches we lost in the last minutes. While we were in control, we lost it in the final. And of course we have to play defense at a high level. Offensively we have the ability, we will find scores. In defense we need to be more aggressive, especially in one-on-one situations».

For Grigonis: “He didn’t practice for the last 3-4 days, but tonight (in France now) he will try. I hope he plays, he is the only experienced player in his position and we have no alternatives».

For the return of Hernangomet: “It will be very important. With Mitoglou and Huatso, but also Matzouka to offer, there will be solutions. But Juancho is experienced, especially on defense. It will help us a lot. He hasn’t played for 5-6 weeks but he will help us».