Ataman-Slukas: “We are not ready, but we want the Super Cup”

THE Panathinaikos is still far from the level of preparedness he wants to reach, as he admitted Ergin Ataman in his statements on the ESAKE website. However, the Turkish coach pointed out that another trophy is a strong motivation for his team.

“There is a reality right now, that we are not ready. Those outside the stadium believe that we are the best team and the favorite to win the Euroleague. But I don’t see that mentality in our team at the moment. We are not ready, we have many wounded. In the whole preparation period we never had the chance to train together, we never had the chance to play a friendly game together. So, we’re not ready, by any means. Certainly, however, it is an event, the Super Cup, that gives a trophy, which both our fans and we want to win. I hope we can build momentum to make it, but nobody can expect good basketball from Panathinaikos in the given period of time“, he emphasized.

“In the Stoiximan GBL regular season last year we had just one loss. I hope we start by avoiding mistakes because as I mentioned before we are not ready yet. I hope that we will be able to manage the first part of the games of the Greek league. We will play quite a few away matches at the beginning, which are always dangerous. Certainly, our goal in the regular season is to finish in first place, just like last year. I hope it will be a healthy season for everyone, a fair year and from then on, whatever team deserves it will win the championship. Last season we deserved it with the hard work we did as a team and the concentration we had. Certainly our goal is the same as last year. I wish my players find the same motivation as last year and all the rest of the teams stay healthy“, he added.

Sloukas: “The Super Cup trophy is less important, but we want it”

The captain of Panathinaikos, Kostas Sloukas, said in turn: “The year begins strongly with an event that judges a trophy, the least important but for us it is. It’s still early in the year, we’re still in the pre-season, but we want it, like the other teams. It will be difficult but we have to present as best as possible even though it is the beginning of the year. We are not thinking back to back yet. We will go game by game. The year is very long, we will have to stay true to our plan and show character in difficult times. First of all, I wish health to all the athletes and let’s stay away from injuries. For us, to have a clear mind, for the people to support our team and at the end to celebrate the trophies».