Panathinaikos landed in Barcelona on the 29th of October, in the afternoon and will be facing Barcelona for game 2 of the Euroleague (21:30h, SKAI tv). The team flew via Madrid, missing Vassilis Spanoulis and Fragiskos Alvetis and trained the night before the game, at the same time as the upcoming encounter.
In reference to their opponent coach Zeljko Obradovic spoke of a “very good and articulate team”, only to add smiling: “I believe the same for us!” Nevertheless, within his every word the Panathinaikos’ coach showed that he respects Barcelona and it’s dynamic. “This game is very important not only in matters concerning the point system, now with the new methods of calculating, but also because we are up against a remarkable team with depth in its bench. We have reviewed many of its games and have analyzed parts of its playing manners from six encounters of the Barcelona team, during our preparation period. It’s a team that includes many good players, all possible to cause harm, it’s playing at home, asset that provides power to it and what we must bare in mind is that we have a really hard game ahead. We must be prepared to play under pressure for the whole 40 minutes of the game. We must “get our game”. Barcelona like all teams has many good features but also has weaknesses which we must punish”.
Saras: Better than last season!
Sarounas Jasikevicius is one of the leading names of the upcoming encounter. “It will be a tough game, the first real strong test of the season, I believe. And it comes against a team that has many players and hopes for all trophies that it is up for in the season. Management put in a lot of effort and signed on lots of players. I think it is one of the five, six top, teams, in a position to fight for and finally conquer all trophies that a single team can in one season. For me, personally, it is always hard to play here. What I want is to improve myself in comparison with last year, so as to help my team”, Saras concluded, astounded as he brought to mind his stats from season past.
Batiste: Immediate rival
Mike Batiste spoke to the Euroleague site about the encounter: “Now that the normal season of the Euroleague has been cut down to ten games, the game against Barcelona, arises to much more importance. This being, because we will find ourselves against one of the basic antagonists of ours, in our group, for the highest possible spot. It is our first powerful test and all of us are motivated for a victory against Barcelona. They have many good players, very many, and it is impossible to focus solemnly on only one or two of them. We must play focused and aggressively against the entire Barcelona team. We’ve got off on a good start and it is very important that up to now, we have celebrated nothing but wins through playing good basketball. We know all too well how far our team can reach”.
