Panathinaikos prepares itself for the game against Trikala (Saturday, 17.00, OAKA), for the 5th day of the Greek League. The team returned from France at 04.00 after the game against Nancy and in the afternoon (19.00) will begin the preparation for the game against Trikala; a game that Vassilis Spanoulis is expected to play for the first time this season in an official match.
Dimitris Itoudis, speaking about the game against Nancy, talked about “appearance in which the team showed fighting spirit” in order to add: “The effort was good. We accomplished to limit the offensive rebound and the fastbreaks of our opponents. The fact that we missed a lot of open shots was a problem. It’s something that can happen in a game, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t try to take care of this problem. We have a lot of margins for improvement and this is something that we must have in our minds, while we keep working and trying for the best”.
Panathinaikos wants a good game against Trikala. A team that presents a “mix of experience and enthusiasm”, as Itoudis says: “It’s a young team, a team that plays for the first time in the Greek League. They have experienced players, but also young players who play with enthusiasm. Basic element of their game is the creation and execution from Avery; mostly out of pick n roll situations, pushing the team offensively. Then there is Nikolaidis who is charismatic scorer, something that he has proved in every team he played for. He can score coming out of screens set by his teammates and also on fastbreaks. Regarding inside game, Massie is the one with the leading role, creating situations from the low post. Also, Avery can post up and we must keep our mind also to Bogdanos offensively, because he has proven so far that he can score. In defense we expect to see both man to man and zone, therefore we must be prepared for either these situations”.
