By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following a demanding two-game week in the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, including a losing effort against Partizan Mozzart Bet on Thursday, Panathinaikos Aktor resumed the domestic schedule and narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of Panionios Viva Juices.
Following Round 9 of Greece’s Stoiximan GBL Regular Season, Ergin Ataman focused on the win, countering his side struggling for large stretches of the game on Sunday.
“It was a tough game. Of course, we were tired after the two-game week [in the EuroLeague]. Some players did not show their real performance but with some defense and some luck, we won the game,” he mentioned in a postgame interview with Greek public television, ERT, “That’s important to win the games in such situations.”
“All EuroLeague teams are losing league games, we find a way to win,” added the 58-year-old Turkish play-caller of the Greens, “Congratulations to my players.”
After trailing by nine points early in the fourth quarter of the nail-biter, Juancho Hernangomez netted the go-ahead three-pointer. With 5.9 seconds remaining, a solid defensive effort was required to improve to 9-0 in the GBL, one win ahead of archrival Olympiacos.
“We didn’t deserve to win. Sometimes you win games like this but it is no good,” noted the 29-year-old Spanish forward of the defending EuroLeague champions.
Switching to Europe’s premier club competition and Round 15 of the 34-game double-legged round-robin schedule, the next fixture is versus Anadolu Efes in Istanbul’s Basketball Development Center on Friday.
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