By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Following Panathinaikos’ dominant 97–62 win over Anadolu Efes at OAKA to close the regular season, head coach Ergin Ataman shifted focus to the upcoming Play-In clash against Monaco.
Speaking at the postgame press conference, Ataman emphasized the quality and experience of the French side, noting that with its current roster, Monaco reached the EuroLeague Final last season. He also underlined the importance of the upcoming stage, describing every game as a final.
“Every game is a final now. Monaco is a great team. Even though they played with eight players tonight, as I saw, all eight are quality players. With this roster, Monaco reached the EuroLeague Final last season. So it will definitely be a tough game. They have very experienced players. We need to play aggressive and good basketball to win. We will prepare for that. If our goal is to reach the Final Four, we have to win. We have a home game against Monaco that we must win — that’s the reality. It will be a very difficult game. We will need a hot atmosphere, like in previous games here, to have extra motivation.”
Regarding the win over Efes, Ataman added:
“Our goal before the game was, of course, to win and secure home-court advantage in the Play-In. It was a difficult game for Efes, because they came without a real objective and were missing important players. Still, the players who played have quality. I think especially in the third quarter we played excellent defense, and in offense we found good shots. Rogkavopoulos had a great game, he was aggressive. Lessort played well inside, and overall everyone contributed. It’s over now. We are waiting for Tuesday’s Play-In game.”
Asked about a potential playoff matchup with Olympiacos, Ataman was clear:
“Sorry, but I’m not thinking about Olympiacos. I’m only thinking about the game against Monaco.”
Finally, speaking about Nikos Rogkavopoulos and whether he could be a key player moving forward, Ataman said:
“He was injured, as you know. He didn’t play in Spain. He received treatment and rested well. He played excellently tonight, and I hope he continues like that in the next game.”