Panathinaikos’s players “forced” their Head Coach for a second consecutive game to congratulate them on their performance. Zeljko Obradovic had nothing but positive remarks to make in the Press Conference after the clash against Kolossos Rhodes: “We expected our opponent to present high motive and it was a fact that actually took place in the first minutes of the encounter, during which it competed superbly. We improved and second quarter led us to our ensuing performance. We might have broken away in the score but Kolossos never gave up its efforts, fought all the time and stayed in the game to such an extent were congratulations are in order for its feisty character. Congratulations are also in order for my players, because they played very well and I know it was not at all easy when practice, trip and game all exist in the same day. The atmosphere was fantastic for yet another occasion and we thank the fans of both teams who chanted throughout the entire encounter”.
Yannis Sferopoulos, Head Coach of Kolossos, stressed: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos for a fair victory. We started off focused, hoped to play aggressively in defense and run something we managed in the first quarter. In the second quarter Panathinaikos enforced great pressure on us and we made bad choices and turnovers. We fought for 35 minutes but gave up in the end, something which is unacceptable. Time wears out the weaker team. Panathinaikos has the quality to keep up its pace even when consecutive substitutions take place, it remains as solid as before. Its defense was really tough, to such an extent that it was unbearable for us. Our performance was hope-bearing despite the 30 point trail we left the floor with. Certain people must understand my philosophy of competing otherwise they will not play at all. We surely expect more from our foreign players, they need time to adjust, it is a question pending, the fact that they have not got with the system yet and further, if they will ever manage to. We nevertheless will seek for solution either in or out of the team… Congratulations to Panathinaikos and good luck in the ensuing season”.
Ian Vougioukas stated: “I wish Kolossos all the best for what’s next. It is always great to play in Rhodes , there is a great atmosphere and we thank the fans of both teams. I wish it could be this way on every court. As far as competing, we are entirely satisfied in the way we played; we remained mature for the whole 40 minutes and fairly reach to victory. It is very difficult for us to have a game every two days and a trip between the two. We proved to have character, showed that we are professionals. Of course there is always a margin of improvement. Now we have a few hours to rest and look forward, since we have a tough game versus Armani Jeans in Milan ahead”.
Pat Calathes stressed: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos. To be able to face such teams you must keep focused during the entire 40 minutes game time. We started off well but made certain turnovers, for which Panathinaikos punished us. That’s the reason it’s the best team in Europe at this moment in time! We nevertheless, are satisfied with our performance for the greatest part of the game and I think we played better in comparison to the game in the Greek Cup, again across from Panathinaikos”.
