There was a common belief among the players of Panathinaikos after the game against Montepaschi Siena: The win was something positive, the need for more stability a given as much as the will for improvement. It was a common line in the quotes of Sarunas Jasikevicius, Stratos Perperoglou and Drew Nicholas.
Jasikevicius: We fought like crazy
Sarunas Jasikevicius was a plus for Panathinaikos in the game against Siena: “It was a good game for us. We controlled the game, but at some points when we seemed to hold the game in our hands, we were giving it back. We came up to double digits difference and in one case we had four continuous turnovers and we allowed them to make their come back in the game. Siena is a team that punishes you when you make turnovers. I think that we played well, mainly offensively. Defensively, we had a good game plan and it was amazing that every shot that went in, in the first half for the Italians, was exactly because we didn’t follow the plan. It was a little bit frustrating, because we played well and we couldn’t get away with a certain lead and when we managed to get this difference, we let it slip through our hands again. Generally we had a good game, we fought like crazy for every ball, offensively –with the exception of these turnovers- we did a good job and I believe that only positive things can come out of this win. Of course we have to think about these ups and downs during a game. We are worried, but we know it’s mostly due to lack of concentration more than anything else. Don’t forget that we are talking about a game that we definitely controlled, even when the margin was cut, even when Siena threatened us. The win is important, but we have done nothing yet. There are six more games and a lot of things can happen. We have to be ready”.
Perperoglou: We gave them the right
Stratos Perperoglou agrees with everything that Jasikevicius stated, talking about “lack of concentration himself”: “We gave Siena the chance to cut the margin, when we lost our concentration and some free throws, along with the Italians’ pressure. Mainly, it was us who gave our opponents’ the chance to make their come back again and again during the game. It was an important game for us; we keep the positive fact of the win itself and the fact that we have to improve. We know that we can become better, that we can play better and it’s something that will be done with work during practices. We have to remain concentrated, since a tough period for us has already started with this game, since we have to face Panellinios twice, for the league and the Greek cup and the game against Olympiakos coming up. We have to prepare ourselves for these games”.
Nicholas: “Fans did a great job”
Drew Nicholas had stated that he wants to play for the fans of Panathinaikos. He had his wish granted for the second time for a Euroleague game: “We knew that the game against Siena would be a tough test for us, because it’s a team that has still all its players from last year and they are a good team. The fans did an excellent job in helping us the last difficult minutes of the game. I think that we controlled the game most of the time. We lost our concentration during certain periods, we made mistakes and we gave them the right to make their come back. I am not really worried about these ups and downs, because that we know that all we have to do is to stay focused for 40 minutes. If we don’t do this, it may costs us in the future. It’s something that happens in a lot of teams. It’s something that we have to fix, but it’s also something that is mostly mental. We have to be there for 40 minutes”.
Next to him a kid was running around, asking for a photo with him and wearing Nicholas’ jersey: The first fan he saw with his jersey since he signed for Panathinaikos: “You feel really well when you see something like this. Every time you see a kid wearing your jersey it’s an amazing feeling”.
Itoudis: We have to learn from our mistakes
Panathinaikos will begin its preparation for the game against Panellinios for the Greek League (Sunday 16/11, 16.00 in Panellinios) today. The team has no problems with injuries and the team will meet this afternoon (19.00) in OAKA. Dimitris Itoudis stated talking about the game against Siena. “Against Siena we saw exactly what we have said and waited to see: A team which can turn a game upside down in the minimum of time, a team that can take advantage of any mistakes its opponents make. We had the will, the players fought for every ball. The one thing we have to do is to improve ourselves, not be egoists, but to learn from our mistakes. There are things that we must work on, in order to become better”.
Tickets for Panellinios
The tickets for the game against Panellinios for the Greek Cup (Wednesday 19/11, 21.00, ET1, OAKA) can be purchased at Gate 10 in “Apostolos Nikolaidis”, along with the season tickets (Monday-Friday 10.00-20.00 and Saturday-Sunday 11.00-19.00).
