By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos got the comeback win over AEK in the Greek league; however, the post-game statements of coach Ergin Ataman essentially put Richaun Holmes out of the team.
During his halftime flash interview, Ataman said that “Holmes is sleeping on the court,” and he didn’t back down in the post-game quotes.
As he said: “We played aggressively, especially Kenneth Faried; others did not. You have to deserve to play for Panathinaikos. Anyone who puts hustle into their game will play. I will keep that in mind when we add Matthias Lessort to the Greek league roster. We will sacrifice a player, the one who doesn’t deserve to play in Panathinaikos”.
Τhe reaction came with laughing emojis on Holmes’ social media and also from his partner with the following message.
“Where does Toliopoulos fit in?”
Ataman, in his press conference, also talked about the Greek guard Vassilis Toliopoulos, who hasn’t cracked the team’s rotation yet.
“I don’t care about one player, but for the whole team”, said Ataman. “Whoever deserves to play, whoever tries on defense, and whoever has the biggest contribution will play. We are not a junior team. You need to have a winning mentality, energy, and a big contribution. I don’t care if you are Nunn or Toliopoulos. We started with Toliopoulos, but unfortunately, the starters made a disastrous start”.
He then added: “Should I also talk about the Euroleague? We can only have 12 players at a time. Who should we sacrifice for Toliopoulos? Nunn? Grant? Sloukas? Shorts? Not everyone fits. They have to show in the GBL games that they are better than the others. If not, there is no place for them in the 12-man team. Unless the rules change and it becomes a 15-man team, then yes. Sorry, again”.