The return to victories and good performances at Euroleague level will be sought on Tuesday night (17/12, 21:15) Panathinaikos AKTORwho welcomes Armani Milano to the packed OAKA for the 16th matchday of the Euroleague.
Speaking at the Media Day of the “greens” ahead of tomorrow’s match, Mr Ergin Ataman he emphasized, among other things, that he firmly believes that his team will be in the Final 4 of the event in Abu Dhabi, while he also spoke about the great importance of the support from his community for the “clover”.
At the same time, he referred to Kendrick Nunn and Ioannis Papapetrou,expressing his optimism that he will have both of them in the match against Armani, despite the fact that the Greek forward was in hospital due to high fever.
Ergin Ataman’s statements in detail:
On the image of his team and the main problems he identifies: “We have no problems. In this Euroleague all the teams in the season have some difficult periods. Some groups they got off to a bad start and they didn’t win, but then they built a streak. Other teams, like us, started well. But now we have three defeats in four games. This can happen. It is not important to focus on the two games we lost by a wide margin. And with two points to lose, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. We have to focus on the two home games and be strong. As you say, in 15 matches we have 8 wins. Now we have two matches at home. We all need to come together, along with the world, for these two games. Then we’ll see the standings, we want to be in a very good position.”
On how important the full OAKA is to him: “Everyone has to remember that people don’t just come here to enjoy the team. He also comes to help her in difficult times. This team in the last two matches has been in a difficult period. In the last game our leading scorer, Kendrick Nunn, did not play. We suffered, we had wounded. It will be very important to find a great atmosphere, a great crowd, to try to win in this difficult period, these two games. I say every time that the world is our 6th player on the court. Against Barcelona we were behind in the score in the 4th period. The team found motivation from the people. This is the reality. We’re motivated by our audience and that’s why we want them all here. To forget what happened in the previous two matches and focus on these two games coming up. If we win in these two matches, we will talk differently.”
On Kendrick Nunn and his team’s medical report: “Kedrick and Papapetrou didn’t practice. They have a problem. Papapetrou is in the hospital with a fever. Kendrick and I said it was best if he didn’t practice todayafter yesterday’s injury. They are both doubtful, we’ll see what happens tomorrow. I’m optimistic, I hope that both will be on the court.”
On Armani Milano and its winning streak: “Armani is an excellent team. He has a great coach, I respect Messina. He had a bad start to the season but found a way to stay up and is now on a winning streak. Mannion’s transfer changed the teamthey play with Mirotic and Ledej in the “4”-“5″ positions and perform very well. We have to be good in defense and attack their weak points, which we analyzed and discussed with the team, to be at their level.”
On his statement on Final Four tickets and whether he reiterates that the public should book tickets to Abu Dhabi: “Naturally. Why not say it? Name me a team that is guaranteed to be in the Final Four. After this double match we will be able to talk better. Keep believing in us. Panathinaikos will be in the Final Four in Abu Dhabi.”
On whether the Panathinaikos Aktor should have been better this year, compared to his start last year and his three transfers: “It is not easy to put such players in a team that is at championship level. We kind of lost our balance, we tried to find it. But during the season we lost many players at critical moments. Grigonis for us was a key player last year in the attack. Papapetrou last year was excellent in closing the season, this year he has not shown his potential. We have some problems. I spoke to Lorenzo Brown, he needs to play harder. He doesn’t have the minutes he had at Maccabi, in which he played 32 minutes. Here it is impossible for that to happen. We have very important players in the district, last year we won the title with them. I refer to Sluka, Nan and Grant. Of course, it’s not easy. But, I saw that many groups have these problems. Nothing happens without problems. And last year, at the same time, we were no better off than we are now. The future is the important thing, the next two matches and starting the second round of the Euroleague with more confidence.”
Source: Sport Fm
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