Only for the second half did Zeljko Obradovic have positive comments to make during the press conference that took place after tonight’s game between Panathinaikos and Zalgiris Kaunas in the OAKA. He did not forget to also refer to the fact that after the great atmosphere that the fans created in yet another home game for the Euroleague competition, the “Greens” would have to once again compete against Ikaros on Sunday without fans.
“We had already said yesterday that Zalgiris Kaunas has quality players. They tried to run and score easy points in fast-breaks, or shoot many three-pointers. We were…lazy starting the game, did not play good defense, and they were constantly scoring easy points. But we were not very dynamic and aggressive in our offence either, so we did not recognize some easy situations and committed many turnovers. In the second half we showed a different face. We had 7 steals and committed just 6 turnovers. We also got exceptional shooting from the perimeter with 8/14 three-point shots and 14 assists. My players had a very good second half against a team that has quality and will play better and better with each game. I would also like to thank the fans for the atmosphere they created. Friday is indeed a very good day for basketball. Now we have to adjust to the unpleasant reality to having to play on Sunday once again without fans. There is nothing…better for basketball than this!”
Zalgiris Kaunas’ coach, Aleksandar Trifunovic, noted: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos for a victory they deserved. It was simply the best team. This is a difficult period for my team but it is generally difficult to win a game in the OAKA. Even if we were in a better condition, we would not consider this a game that we would win… Diamantidis’ 3-pointers were decisive in the game. Apart from that, if you take a look at the statistics, you will see that they took many offensive rebounds; that we did not keep our pace, and did not perform well in the basics of our game. We had poor free-shot percentages, and lost easy baskets in the third period. If you do all that you cannot hope to make a comeback in a game where you are facing Panathinaikos.”
