The thirst of Panathinaikos, the players, the world and also his own for winning the Euroleague trophy in tomorrow’s grand final of the competition was emphasized by Ergin Ataman speaking at the match press conference.
The Turkish coach, after thanking the team’s fans who have been with the team from the first moment and have believed in it from the first moment, pointed out that they will do everything in tomorrow’s match against a very good team in a difficult match that he estimated it will be tomorrow.
Ergin Ataman did not reveal plans and thoughts but underlined that tomorrow’s match is different from the match in Madrid… “Different match, different plan than regular season match”he said in this regard, while he admitted that the away victory of the clover in Spain was also what made him believe that Panathinaikos can reach this far…
@sporfm946 Ergin Ataman’s press conference ahead of Panathinaikos’ final against Real Madrid #panathinaikos ? original sound – sporfm946
Ergin Ataman’s statements in detail at the press conference…
Regarding the presence of Panathinaikos in the final:
“We are very happy that after so many years Panathinaikos is in the final again. And for me I am happy that after last year’s exception I will meet Real again in the final. They are a great team, but I have faith in our team.”
For the support of Panathinaikos fans this season:
“I am very happy for all the friends of Panathinaikos, who believed in us throughout the season and are now enjoying themselves. Yesterday they created an amazing atmosphere. We all enjoy it and we will enjoy it tomorrow. We will see the result, but I am happy that all our fans respect me and my players.”
For the regular season match, the victory of Panathinaikos in Madrid:
“Certainly the regular season games don’t compare. We played in Madrid after the Cup, both teams were not 100% ready then. Every result is important, of course. Real is a great team, our plan will be different, we are talking about a final.”
On Giannakopoulos’ prediction in January that Panathinaikos would beat Real in the final with a Slukas basket:
“I hope so (laughs). So far we have succeeded and the president has also succeeded in his predictions. We have a final, we will go for the win. Panathinaikos and Real did a great job and got big wins to get here. For us, it is something that fills us with pride.”
On the fact that Euroleague finals are usually decided on the basket:
“I think yesterday you were a bit bored… Surely for you it’s more exciting that the games are decided at the end, but for me yesterday it was more comfortable at the end yesterday and I hope we win like that. It’s soul-destroying to play until the last seconds, for us it’s bad, but for you it’s exciting”
For the point of the season when he believed that Panathinaikos would reach the top:
“I think the victory over Real was that point. It gave us a lot of confidence and then we realized what our potential is, we started thinking about the Final 4. We had a record away win and that gave us a lot of belief.”
For his appearance in a final with a foreign team:
“I don’t want to give Matteo the pleasure of taking from me that I’m the last one to do the back-to-back (laughs). I’m in the Final 4 for the sixth time, I’m proud of myself and many Turkish fans, like from Fenerbahce, have supported their team, which is natural. But I will be the only representative of Turkey in the final. There have been many Turkish fans who have supported me, it’s a big thing for me. They see it as something created by a Turk. Since yesterday I have been receiving dozens of messages, many from Galatasaray but also from its management. I would like to wish Galata the best of luck in the championship”
On how he will be received if he takes the title:
“The people of Panathinaikos believed in me from the beginning, they treated me with love and respect, I’m trying to make everyone believe in the team. I don’t dream, because if you lose you are disappointed. I coach and I feel that I can have a good or bad result”.
For the Euroleague format:
“Honestly, I prefer to play series like in the NBA. But with such a long season it is impossible. In this format there is a final, just like in football. But I think it would be more exciting if we played semi-finals and finals in series, like in the NBA.”
On the challenge of beating a club like Real:
“Sure, when I was a kid we watched Real Madrid and we still do now. It is perhaps the most glorified club in the world. For me it is exciting to play in a final with such a team. It was a dream for me as a child. Maybe I would have preferred to be a football coach against Real (laughs). But Panathinaikos will also have more people here, because we have a greater passion for basketball.”
For Musa when he had him as a player:
“Sometimes you make mistakes. Moussa had come in the middle of the year, we had a very good team then. Unfortunately he left and went to Spain. I hope he doesn’t get a rematch tomorrow (laughs).”
For Panathinaikos’ 6/7 record in finals:
“Statistics are for the media. It’s a different team here and that doesn’t matter for tomorrow’s game.”
Source: Sport Fm
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