By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Reacting to Ergin Ataman mentioning a threat following the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs meeting between Panathinaikos Aktor and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in OAKA Altion, the Turkish Basketball Federation shared a message of support via a post on X.
“We condemn the threat made against the head coach of our senior national team Ergin Ataman.
We express our full support to our coach who represents our country abroad and wish him success,” noted TBF.
A Erkek Milli Takım Başantrenörümüz Ergin Ataman’a gerçekleştirilen tehdidi kınıyoruz.
Ülkemizi yurt dışında temsil eden hocamıza tam destek verdiğimizi belirtiyor, kendisine başarılar diliyoruz.
Türkiye Basketbol Federasyonu
— TBF (@TBF) April 26, 2024
Ataman, 58, talked about a threat after guiding the Greens to a win against Maccabi on Thursday evening. His side tied a best-of-five series at 1-1.
“When I was going to the locker room, somebody from the Maccabi staff – I don’t know who, he was without accreditation – told me ‘You’ll see in Israel, you’ll see what the Zionists will do to you’,” he said.
The team guided by Ataman finished the 2023-24 Regular Season of the EuroLeague in second place. Moving to the Playoffs, his side lost Game 1 and bounced back with a convincing display in Game 2. Two more wins are required to clinch a berth in the Final Four and end a 12-year drought for the six-time champions.
Besides taking over the Greek powerhouse before the 2023-24 season, he is the national team selector of Turkiye, in a second stint.
Additional coaching experience is highlighted by leading Anadolu Efes to back-to-back EuroLeague championships in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, he was named Alexander Gomelsky EuroLeague Coach of the Year.