Ataman: ‘We didn’t play our best game but our defense was excellent’ – What he said about Fatih Terim

Panathinaikos AKTOR ideally completed the first round of this year’s Euroleague, beating Red Star 82-65 in the “hot” OAKA and remaining in 4th place in the standings!

After the end of the match, Ergin Ataman he spoke about the very good defensive image presented by his players, he spoke about the improvement in rebounds and about Fatih Terim, while he spoke in the best words about Costas Antetokounmpo!

In detail what the coach of Panathinaikos said:



“We started the game very well. We wanted to put pressure on Teodosic, who in the previous match had 14 assists and as many points. With Kalaitzakis, we held him and took him out of the game. We tried the same thing with Nedovic. Obviously we didn’t play our best game, we missed some free kicks and our percentages weren’t the best, but our defense was excellent. Red Star put 98 points in the previous match and today 65. They have players who are stars and we had to be aggressive in defense. Some games you have to get like that. It’s a very good win for us and in the first half of the Euroleague we finished in 4th place, which is what we want at this stage”.

To improve the team in rebounding: “Actually the team today was very aggressive in a terrible atmosphere in OAKA. We were rushing the rebounds, especially when we were pushing them into tough shots. It is not difficult to get the rebounds. We didn’t do any preparation. We thought he would come out of defense. Sometimes the victories will come through the defense, not the attack”.

About Fatih Terim: “Fatih Terim has been my friend for years. He’s kind of like my big brother, because he’s older than me. We talked every time and we have a lot of respect for each other. And he surprised me a lot when he picked me up and told me he was coming to Athens. I was in Istanbul for a day and when he picked me up I didn’t understand and thought he was coming for the holidays with his family. And then he explained to me. Terim is the most successful and the best coach in Turkey. UEFA has also won. He has won many titles. But he is also a great character. We also support the same team, Galatasaray, and I invited him today to be with my family at the stadium. I hope we both have a wonderful time in Athens”.

For Antetokounmpo: “Kostas has helped the team a lot in the last 2 weeks. He did it with both Villeurbanne and Monaco. In the games of the Greek league, a starter starts. It’s something that gives him confidence. It’s important that he understands what the role is and I think that as he improves in defense and rebounding he will help the team even more”.