By Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens played extremely well against Khimki Moscow Region on both ends of the floor and got a 93-65 victory at home remaining undefeated in Athens. Coach Xavi Pascual and coach Georgios Bartzokas commented on the game and their respective teams.
Coach Bartzokas’ initial comments on the game:
“Obviously today it was one team on the court, we disappeared from the beginning, in rebounding, offense, and defense, ” he stated. “We had 3/11 free-throws, we lost more than 10 lay-ups and the final result for our poor game was normal. We knew they were going to play with confidence, we did not play good and it was my responsibility to have my team ready. It is also my responsibility that we keep our heads up and play in the next two days another game. As I said this is our job to play another game in two days and congratulations to Panathinaikos for their great game.”
Coach Bartzokas also added: “We are not ready to defeat every team on the road, especially when we have two players missing, but they (players) had to be ready for a physical game. You cannot play individually against these type of experienced teams.”
He finally commented on the EuroLeague format: “The problem is that this format is tiring, and we have to have patience in our game. Every game is with a high intensity, important for our team but our 5-2 record is still good.”
Coach Xavi Pascual also commented on the game:
“I think that tonight we played the best game this season, we started the game playing great defense and this is why I think from the first minutes we controlled the tempo of the game. Thank you to all of the fans who came to O.A.C.A and together we are stronger.”
When asked about Marcus Denmon he replied: “I never searched for a player to replace Marcus Denmon. The best thing is that we had a great all-around game, but the bad news is that we play again in 48 hours against Anadolu Efes.“
Finally, he commented on the game against Anadolu Efes in two days: “We don’t have to forget that a single game can change our future in this competition. “We saw that Baskonia, Efes changed with important wins. The most important game in sports is the game you must win when you have lost the previous one, “ he said. “We play Efes when they are playing really well and they have some really good players and play well in transition. It is a key game for us moving forward.”