Ergin Ataman: “Right Now, We Are Only Thinking About Friday’s Fenerbahce Game”

Ergin Ataman spoke after Panathinaikos’ victory against AEK in the third week of the Greek Basketball League, where Panathinaikos comfortably secured a 94-74 win.

This win marked Panathinaikos’ third victory in as many games, while AEK suffered their first loss of the season.

After the game, coach Ergin Ataman shared his thoughts:

“At one point in the game, we stopped playing defense. We were 34 points ahead, and I put in the young players. They made a lot of mistakes on offense, and AEK has a high offensive potential. When we stopped playing aggressive defense, they scored 22 points in five minutes. In the first 30 minutes, they scored 40 points, but then in five minutes, they added 22. After that, I changed the team, put the starting five back in, and we secured the win. It was an important victory. Of course, there was fatigue after the double-game week in the EuroLeague, but I think we showed some good things defensively, especially in the first half. In the upcoming games, defense will be even more important, and we are still in the development phase.”

Coach Ataman also commented on the upcoming Olympiacos derby:

“Of course, it’s a derby match, a very important game. But to be honest, right now, we are only thinking about Friday’s EuroLeague game against Fenerbahce. After the game on Friday, we will return to Athens, arriving around 3-4 a.m., and then we will play the derby on Sunday. But Olympiacos is in the same situation. It will be a good match. In the Greek Derby, there will be two strong teams. They have the home-court advantage, but as we did in last year’s playoff finals, we will try to win.”