Tobin: “We played in unsportsmanlike conditions, most people were smoking inside the stadium”

Panathinaikos got a great victory against the “eternal” rival Olympiakos for the 2nd matchday of A1 Women with 62-55 (13/10).

After the final of the match, the athletes of the “red and white” Rebecca Tobin, Merritt Hebe and Kira Lambert they stood up to the conditions that prevailed inside the closed “Pavlos Giannakopoulos”, which they described as unsportsmanlike.

Rebecca Tobin said: “We are professional basketball players and yet, we are forced to play under very difficult and unsportsmanlike conditions. We played in a stadium that was packed way beyond capacity. Most of them were smoking and we couldn’t breathe. I, personally, have asthma and had a very difficult time during the game.”

For her part, Merit Hebe emphasized: “The conditions of the match were difficult, it is unacceptable. The distance of the playing field from the fans’ platform is not what it should be. We couldn’t even breathe properly because of the smoke.”

Finally, Olympiakos’ American guard, Kira Lambert, said: “I have never played a match in a stadium with so much smoke in my career! There were not the right conditions to play basketball at this level.”