Everybody in Panathinaikos set their minds in the final series against Olympiacos. It was something obvious by the quotes of Fragkiskos Alvertis at the press conference after the game against PAOK.
"A tough series of games was concluded. PAOK was competitive, they played very well and they were well prepared. For us it was better since PAOK resist us and we had the chance to spot our weaknesses we want to improve heading to the finals. These games will raise all our senses, in order to achieve our goal and get the title".
Dimitris Diamantidis spoke on behalf of the players of Panathinaikos at the press conference: "The semifinals' series was concluded, we are in the finals, fulfilling a goal we have set since the beginning of the season. PAOK is a very good team, they have a very good coach and they play organized basketball. They know where to attack and they work well both in offense and defense. We had a tough job and now we have to play better in both sides of the court".
Diamantidis was asked about the final series against Olympiacos: "My wish is to have good games without any off the court misbehaviors and we'll see who is going to celebrate the title. We have to improve in the finals and must not think that we have the home court advantage. It's a good thing that we play home, but we have to perform better in all aspects of the game. In games like this one against Olympiacos you have to prove your will on the court. The differences between the teams are not big, since they have experienced players. Anyway we have to play better and we'll try to reach the title".
Soulis Markopoulos (coach, PAOK), stated: "Congratulations to Panathinaikos. They were better organized and stronger than the two games in OAKA. They played professional basket to get the win. They chased every ball from the tip off to the end of the game and made our life difficult. After the first half they scored two three pointers and they entered strong in the second half by attacking quickly, something that it's not compatible to the way we usually play. We didn't manage to fatigue Panathinaikos' defense. Another bad point for us was that we handled bad the low post game and Panathinaikos took advantage of it and Greens were sharp behind the arc. With this fact as a given it's tough to reverse the outcome. We have to prepare for the games against Panionios. We have said that we want to be competitive against Panathinaikos and this is what happened. We want to thank our fans and I wish we had that many fans in all our home games. You may lose by 10 points being competitive. The thing is to make the effort you want. We did it. I am very pleased with my players, since we were competitive in all three games".
George Bogris (player, PAOK), stated: "We knew that Panathinaikos apart from the home court advantage, has an advantage in quality. I think that we deserved to win a game. Now, we have Panionios and I wish everything will turn out well. We made some mistakes at the end of the game, while in the second half we didn't function well in offense. We were stressed because of the fans, we played as individuals, while Panathinaikos changed its defense and was sharp behind the arc. Panathinaikos wasn't sharp in shooting in the first two games, but when they sink 14 three pointers it's difficult for any team to win. Now our mind is set on Panionios. They have the stress and I believe we have the quality to win".
