A few hours after his return Panathinaikos AKTOR from Berlin with the 7th European title of his history in the luggage, the direct partner of Ergin Ataman, Christos Serelis, hosted in News Bulletin 247 from the George Petridis and Tasso Nikolopoulos, speaking of this historic triumph.
The 49-year-old technician, after being mentioned once more to the emotion of Giorgos Petridis during the radio broadcasts (!), he made his analysis of the final against Real.
Then he stood to the contribution of all players in this effort, he referred to temperament as coach of Ergin Ataman, while he also stood at leadership skills of Kostas Sloukas, making his own comment on the degree of preparedness of the “greens” in view of the finals of the Greek championship.
In detail what Christos Serelis said:
“Georgos was more moved in the semi-final than in the final, the end was probably easier! I think that since Real played in the first half and scored so many points and only led by 5 goals, they had a performance in the second half similar to that of Olympiakos.
We were able to play our defense that we play all year. Slukas and Nan found the shots and the Real players showed in the last minutes that they didn’t even believe it. We put Mitroglou in the “5” and he took the shots, we got this shape. And Dinos and all the guys had a pivotal offer. We could feel it from the bench that Real didn’t believe it in the last 3-4 minutes.”
For an emphatic team comeback from 17th place to the top of Europe: “I don’t think there has been such a big comeback since the 17th to take the trophy. I don’t know if it has happened in other sports. In the summer it appeared that the team would return to the top. But it came in the first year.
The two best teams in terms of consistency throughout the season played in the final. We didn’t start the season well, understandably, since we were a new roster, but then we were solid and very good. We were much better in the final than Real, and in the tournament in general. Possibly we wanted the trophy more than the other teams. Everyone wanted to prove something within the team. The coach has to prove once again that he remains at the highest level, and that’s how we got it fairly.”
For the game that looked like the match in Madrid: “We knew they were a team we didn’t want to lose to because of surprise and transitions that can kill the opponent. We wanted to go 5 vs 5 and especially for Real to play in this condition. Although we didn’t start well defensively, if we kept our plan we thought we would have our chance to win the match. As with Olympiakos, Real were amazing as with us, they had a big gap, they didn’t risk it, but the gap narrowed. Of course, Real would continue to have high percentages if we did not improve our defense. Olympiacos did the same. We improved our defence, made it fail and found points easier, and points with players like Nan and Sluka”.
Panathinaikos got things from all its players in the final four: “He wanted the players to learn from the coach, and vice versa, to bond as a team. It is clear that the coach does not want to have a large rotation in games, not in general. So the important thing is for every player to understand that he must train properly and hard because at any time he can be called to enter the game. This is not always easy, it cannot be achieved in 1-2 months.
Vildoza had time to play, but there was no other player who knew Campazzo as well. He played amazingly on Campacho. The kids who don’t play much, like Kalaitzakis, Papapetrou after his return from injury, should also get the credits. Fortunately, we have a very good dressing room, the season ended with the absolute best in Europe, so will it be in Greece.
They have all proven that they are ready to play whenever called upon. Juancho played through injury with Maccabi and was instrumental. Slukas was injured but he led us to the final. The climate in the locker room and how each player perceives himself in the team plays a big role.”
For Ergin Atmaan what makes him special: “He has a confidence that he easily passes on to the players. He is demanding in the things he asks for, many times he seems strict, but he is not dogmatic in his beliefs. Many times he also accepts the other point of view, we did different things during the year, we improved. He wants the opinion of the experienced players, he talks with them. This helped the team in difficult times. The hardest moment for me was losing the Cup and after a few days we had the biggest win of the season in Madrid against Real. In the meantime we talked a lot.”
On how the players’ minds can be gathered for the finals of the championship: “The games against Aris are important because we will get into a competitive rhythm in order not to escape. And only the opponent, Olympiacos, keeps us alert. It’s not just the “derby of the ages” but we’ll be playing again with a team that was in the Final 4. We’ll be playing for the second time for the EuroLeague, for example. It could well have been our opponent in the final. Therefore we cannot be relaxed.
We want to get back to the leagues, you saw the crowd today. I have no worries about how we will be in the matches against Olympiakos. Kostas is a very big transfer for Panathinaikos, exactly what the team needed and lacked and it is the transfer that changed the balance in the team. Without him I don’t think he would have gotten where he did as quickly.”
Listen to the relevant excerpt:
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.
