By Vangelis Papadimitriou / info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes held a 12-point lead in the third quarter but couldn’t hold on during Game 1 of the EuroLeague Playoff series against Panathinaikos on the road.
After the game, Bryant summed things up in just four words.
“They won, we lost,” Bryant said to Eurohoops.
He did, however, go into more detail when analyzing the performance.
“We made some turnovers, we missed some shots, but at the end of the day, they won, we lost. But we have another chance here—we’ll watch the film and then get back to it.”
Bryant also explained what Efes needs to do to bounce back in the series.
“I think at the end of the day, we just gotta come play harder. They played way harder in the second half, and we’ve got to match that energy to give ourselves a better chance.”
In the fourth quarter, the Panathinaikos crowd became even more involved, and there was increased focus on refereeing decisions. What does Bryant say about all of this?
“It’s playoff basketball, so you know it’s gonna be physical. I think at the end of the day, we just gotta let the players decide the game and go from there,” he concluded.