After twelve years… you itch, o Panathinaikos AKTOR returned to the Euroleague Final 4, where the “present” will also be given by Olympicin a great and historic year for Greek basketball.
The “architect” of the “clover” renaissance, Ergin Ataman, gave an interview to the Turkish newspaper, “Sabah”, talking about the huge success of the “greens”, but also about the fact that all this came through a completely new roster!
At the same time, the Turkish coach characterized Panathinaikos as the biggest club in Europehaving once again revolutionized Greek basketball, while being asked about the goals, he stated that only n conquering the Euroleague and the Greek championship is on his mind!
Ergin Ataman’s statements in detail:
“We have once again created a revolution in Greek basketball. This is a very big event right now!
One hundred thousand people were on the waiting list to enter the stadium even though the tickets had sold out 3 days before the last game. There is a great passion in Greece. It is for the Panathinaikos basketball team. We did a great job. It was a comeback longed for by the biggest basketball club in Europe, like Panathinaikos. We wrote a long comeback story. Because Panathinaikos had not managed to qualify for the Final Four for 12 years and finished 17th last season. Panathinaikos was the team that came from last to first and we are very proud of that.
We are a newly formed team. There are only 3 players from last year’s team. Such success with a completely new structure is a very rare event. The Euroleague is the highest level of European basketball, apart from that it also seems to be a special event in Greece.
Our goal is the final and the championship. From now on, as a coach who has won the EuroLeague title twice, I can think of nothing less. I say this as a coach who has experienced it. We trust ourselves. The opponent doesn’t matter to us.
It will be my 6th Final Four with 3 different teams. I am one of 2-3 coaches in Europe who have played in the most Final Fours. I am the only active coach who has won all 4 different Cups in Europe. This is called a great success for the European public.
In the Greek press there are comments like “Ataman broke Obradovic’s curse”. I don’t accept that in sports. Yes, Panathinaikos had serious failures and morale. After Obradovic came many valuable coaches and very important players. But we cannot consider this as a curse. Maybe the yeast didn’t take. Ours worked. Our ambition and energy resonated well with the Panathinaikos community.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
