Zeljko Obradovic could be nothing but proud of the way Panathinaikos competed: “We committed a magnificent game and I am proud of the manner in which we performed. It was and still continues to be important for us to believe in the fact that we came here to win. The home court advantage does play a significant role always, but we have possibilities and we will challenge them. I am very pleased in the way we competed. Given that the win was determined through details. We will see the game video and see what happened thus on Thursday it will be a whole different ball game. We must think up alternative solutions for the players”.
As far as the refereeing Obradovic avoided making any hasty judgments, calling for a clear mind: “we think of our actions. I have an opinion for the referees, bur I want to see the game one more time before I say anything. It is easy for anyone to see through certain things that took place but I would like to see the game again before making any statements”.
Diamantidis: “Better on Thursday”
Dimitris Diamantidis was Panathinaikos’s true leader for yet another occasion, proving on court why he is viewed as the top player. He believed in victory, he still believes in qualification and proved not to be all words and no show: “We made an effort, where focused all through the game, had certain bad choices at a specific point, bur manage to lose the game by a missed shot of mine at the buzzer. I do not wish to speak about the referees. I prefer to keep focus on my team and on certain mistakes we may have committed. We put ourselves in the position of fighting for qualification with a home court disadvantage across from Barcelona . The issue is what to do now. We must be good in every game, work hard both mentally and on the court, so as to be better on Thursday. Panathinaikos has it within its strengths to surpass Barcelona ’s obstacle. We are certainly upset with the way the defeat finally came but we must show character and be prepared for the second game. About myself, on a personal level, I wish to state nothing. Basketball is a team sport. Many of the guys do many things that are invisible to the untrained eye of a person who doesn’t know basketball. I played well, but sometimes you are on a good night, sometimes you’re not. What counts is the team’s overall performance and we must be better in the next game. It is hard because we are trailing 1-0 in the series, it hurt as losing like we did but we must know show greater concentration and snatch the win in the second matchup”.
Pascual: “I expect tough games”
Barcelona’s Head Coach, Xavier Pascual, stated: “The fans had the opportunity to enjoy a great game, one of those expected to be viewed in the Euroleague play off series amongst the two previous champions of the league. We led by 37-30 slightly prior to the break, but a 5-0 run put Panathinaikos back in the game. When Panathinaikos led by 5 we took the appropriate measures even though we missed quite a few free throws during that time. We seemed to have control over the game but things became more complex and we almost paid the price. I expect tough games. Panathinaikos knows our strong spots and it is only natural that it will try to stop us. They enforced mix defenses that knocked us off our rhythm. We fought back with back to back threes. We expected so much from Panathiniakos. It has enforced these defenses across from the other two Spanish teams it came up against. We knew these defenses, now how to face them, but lost track of space and time. Also we allowed them to many second chances especially in the first half. They had 8 offensive rebounds in the first half and finished up the game behind 12. We played good defense, but the offensive rebounds kept them in the game. Mentality wise, the first game of such a series is the toughest, at our home-court and across from a tough rival. Now we must be prepared for the second encounter”.
Pascual stressed that “Panathinaikos challenged our guards, allowing them to shoot for three”, only to add: “We challenged Diamantidis, because we didn’t want him to dish the ball as he normally does. We knew he could get to the basket and we let him do so. Now we shall see how we will move the next time".
