By Bugra Uzar/ info@eurohoops.net
Ergin Ataman couldn’t help but be quite happy with Galatasaray getting the first victory in the Euroleague season by beating Olympiacos in Abdi Ipekci.
“It was our last chance in Euroleague,” said the coach of the Turkish team. “We had a meaningful win in an important week in Turkey. We gave good signals last week in Madrid, but we couldn’t manage to win there. In the first half we were good in defense. We had no trouble except for Printezis. In the second half we kept control of the game. We had a 14-point lead. Lojeski and Mantzaris were efficient with their outside shots. We could have won by a big margin. In the end we managed to win.”
One of the top players of Galatasaray was captain Sinan Guler, who registered a career high in assists with 12, making short work of his opponents’ defense. And his coach did nothing but absolutely praise him.
“Sinan Guler is improving himself in every game. He is 33 yeras old but he is improving his game every year and i haven’t seen a lot players like him. He has taken play maker duties today and he has done incredible job. Because of that I am congratulating him. Amazing professional. I hope he will continue like that. He is the only Turkish player, who contributes at an important level. I hope he will continue his performance in national team.”
Last week after the game vs Real Madrid, coach Ataman fired some shots against Russ Smith regarding his lackluster performance. Tonight he was asked about the condition of American guard expressing once again
“Russ Smith is young player. We have dissapointment about his performance today. In summer, he had some light with his performance. This week, he had two amazing practises. I was about to give up about him last week but with his performance this week, i decided to give him another chance.”
Smith stayed on court for 5:39 vs Olympiacos scoring 2 points (1/4 from the field).
“His problem of mental nature. Tonight, he didn’t contribute again. I don’t know if he is getting emotional (overexcited). If he will continue to be our part, we will try again in future,” he added.
Regarding the injury of Vladimir Micov, coach Ergin Ataman said that: “Micov has bond rupture in his finger. Doctors said he can play with that. Normal person has to have surgery. He will continue with that. It happened in his left hand so i dont think it’s going to be a big problem.” Here are the rest of the game’s quotes.