In his effort Ergin Ataman to influence the referees for the continuation of the playoffs yielded after Game 1 o Anthony Cleveland after defeat of Maccabi by Panathinaikos in the second game of the series (95-79).
“Ataman wanted to put pressure on the referees. I don’t think it played any part in the result, but I don’t think we lost because of the referee either. We’re not into refereeing and protesting, we just want to play basketball. Katas would never act like that“, he said.
In fact, he responded to the remark of the Turkish coach that “… all of Europe saw the difference between Panathinaikos and Maccabi in the regular season” saying: “We’ve beaten them three times already this year. What does Europe have to say about this?».
About yesterday’s game, the American guard/forward commented: “We fought and never gave up. I think a lot was judged on the eight points that Panathinaikos managed on one possession in the second period. Now we have a chance to close the series in Belgrade and that is our goal. We feel that we are in good shape and we can win the next games».
Finally, about the possibility of losing more matches, Wade Baldwin said: “He is a great player, one of the best and we have faith in him and in our team. If he comes back it will be a big deal, but even if he doesn’t we’ll be fine. I have a lot of confidence in my team and we will be ready on Tuesday».
Source: Sport Fm
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