Ataman: “All week we had problems, we are not ready for Partizan”

He appeared particularly concerned Ergin Atamanahead of his showdown Panathinaikou AKTOR with Partizan (19/1, 21:15), for its 22nd matchday Euroleague.

The Turkish coach referred to the obstacles in his team’s preparation due to the absences, stressing at the same time that it would be a big mistake to believe in the “clover” that the match with his team Zeljko Obradovic it will be a “party”.

Ergin Ataman stated in detail:

On whether the game with Partizan will be a new… party for the “clover”: “The worst we can say is something for a “party”. After the Monaco match, all week, we didn’t work well. We had injured and sick people, we are not ready for this match. The worst thing is to treat the matches like a “party” before winning them. Maybe we are in a good position, but there are still 13 matches to win. Tomorrow’s game will be very tough. Partizan is a disciplined team that fights in every match. In Belgrade they beat us, while they were at -10 in the final. If we think we’re going to “party” like my players have been thinking all week, it’s going to be disastrous».

On whether Kevin Pander’s absence changes his team’s defensive plan: “We also have a lot of absences. It doesn’t matter if Partizan has an absence, we have ours too and they are many».

On whether there are new absences other than Luka Vildosa, Olek Balcerovski and Lefteris Mandzouka: “Yes, Kostas Antetokounmpo was sick for six days. I don’t know if he will be ready to play tomorrow or not. Also, Matias Lesor had a back problem all week. Only today did he train normally. It’s a big problem. We haven’t prepared well for this game, that’s the reality for us. Of course, we will have the people with us. It will give us energy. That’s the only positive. I hope that the players with this energy will be even more motivated, because I did not see good energy and good motivation this week on the field».