Vovoras: “Ataman is one of the best coaches of the last 10 years – Grigonis deserved the new contract”

He may be currently in Lithuania and Neptune’s Bench, o George Vovoras but continues to watch him incessantly Panathinaikos ACTORin which he spent many years either as assistant or as head coach.

The Greek coach was hosted by the Lithuanian “BasketNews” and commented on this year’s course of the “clover”, while praising Ergin Ataman and fully supported the decision to renew his contract Marius Grigonis.

In detail what he said:

For the course of Panathinaikos and Ataman: “Panathinaikos completely changed the roster. It is not easy to make such a renewal and jump from 17th place to 2nd place. I believe that Panathinaikos is the biggest surprise of the EuroLeague season. Of course, he has a lot of talent, great players, but for the coach to achieve such a result from the first year is unique. We must respect the organization of Panathinaikos”.

For the Euroleague favorite: “Of course, Real Madrid are a team that made an amazing start to the season with Campazzo. I think Real Madrid will be in the Final Four again and will be the main contenders for the trophy.”

For the EuroLeague Play-In Tournament: “It was a great decision for the EuroLeague. We saw many teams fighting to the end for the play in positions. Now, we will see interesting matches in the quarter-finals.”

About his relationship with Panathinaikos: “I spent almost nine years at Panathinaikos, experiencing great moments and winning trophies. Despite the challenges and difficulties of the last 2-3 seasons, I maintain a strong bond with the whole club. They were my family for almost nine years. We can see that Panathinaikos is back where it should be this year. OAKA is sold out in almost every home game, around 4,000 fans traveled for the game in Munich. I am happy for Panathinaikos”.

To renew Grigonis: “Marius has played great and at a high level this season. He has the confidence of the coach. In my opinion, Ataman is one of the best EuroLeague coaches in the last 10 years. I also like that Ataman builds the roster exactly how he wants and Grigonis fits the system perfectly.

Grigonis has adapted to the coach’s wishes and Panathinaikos is not thinking about just one season. They wanted to build a trunk, they gave him a contract that he fully deserved. He likes Greece, as does his family. As a fan of Panathinaikos, I am happy with this decision.”