Kalaitzakis: “We played defense and got energy”

Panagiotis Kalaitzakis emphasized that Panathinaikos was obliged to beat Armani after the previous matchday’s defeat by Maccabi Tel Aviv, he spoke of the defense they played, he spoke of the psychological boost that the victory will give for the continuation, he praised the quality of Zalgiris , ahead of Friday’s match, spoke to the plethora of quality guards the team has and called for them to keep a low profile to get to f4.

Analytically: “We had said after the ‘crush’ in Belgrade that we had to win today and we did, we put the world in the equation as well. We got big margins, played terrible defense for 38′-40′ with a lot of energy. When we play the right way, we can do a lot.

We got the victory and the impetus for the continuation because we have a very difficult match in Kaunas in less than 48 hours, we saw Zalgoris beat Efes by +26. We are happy about it now, but from tomorrow we are looking at the next match.

I know I have the easiest job, Mitoglou, Grant, Grigonis, Lessor have been playing 30+ minutes every match for months. I come to the field, I train, I play 15; and I give it all. I like what I do, I have an easy job, I like this year’s team, we are a team, I am very happy because we are already winning. Mitoglou, when Huatso was absent for a long time, was half of the team, he has won five-six matches by himself with a lot of minutes. You can’t score 20 points every night, it’s basketball.

The goal is the trophy, but keep your head down, It’s something far away, but not. We have said that the goal is the playoffs and then the Final Four. It’s our goal, just like every other team at this level of the top six and top eight. We are giving everything for this goal, we want to conquer the Euroleague”.