By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With 69 seconds remaining and the score 85 – 82 in Game 4 vs. Real Madrid, Panathinaikos head coach Xavi Pascual saw Luka Doncic make a contested 3-pointer off the glass for the 88 – 82. This bucket pretty much pushed the Blancos to victory, the 3-1 in the series and the Final Four.
“We defended well but Doncic’s shot went in,” Pascual said. “Real Madrid was a bit lucky in that shot. They deserved to win but they were lucky. You can imagine how my face was after that shot. Real were great. They deserved to be in the Final Four.”
“We tried to be competitive. We had many difficulties and made mistakes we didn’t make in previous games. The pressure was very high in the beginning. We were frustrated for losing the two previous games and we couldn’t be fully focused. Maybe we were too excited that’s why Real Madrid found easy ways to score. We bounced back but that 3-pointer by Doncic killed us,” Pascual added.
The Spanish coach also commended his players for their effort. “Congratulations to my team for getting here. We deserved to be here and fighting against a team like Real. We lost games for just a few points. These games were decided in the very last end. We had our chances to win.”
Mike James wasn’t used at all in the fourth period and according to Pascual, there was a specific reason for this.
“We were getting closer with the team on the floor. We had defensive and offensive balance and we got as close as 3. But we couldn’t win. At that moment we had a good balance, choice and the odds to win. Only five players can play and we took that decision.”
When asked if this was the last EuroLeague game of Panathinaikos not only this season but in general, given the dispute of club owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos with the competition’s CEO Jordi Bertomeu, Pascual said that, “I cant give you an answer on that. I have an active contract. I don’t know how things will evolve in the future.”