Zeljko Obradovic commented on everything that was poorly done during the game in his postgame press conference statements. Panathinaikos’ coach clarified what needs to be done, what he asks of and expects from his players, while he also referred to Tsartsaris and Perperoglou.
“It is easy for someone to understand that the second half decided the outcome of the game. We, on the other hand, had already pinpointed already from the first half that we had received too many easy points and had diagnosed a lack of concentration despite the fact that at the end of the fourth quarter we were up by two points. We must understand all too well that they made a lot of easy baskets because they were running faster than we did in the fast break. This, in its turn, happened because the team did not have the necessary concentration to read the kind of defense it should to play when going back to defense after CSKA’s transition game. One thing that we must all ponder upon and is a matter of character in the game is that it unfathomable to play defense with your hands down when the opponent does not have the free throw bonus. In addition, you do not grant them both a successful shot and a foul on top of that. If you give them easy free throws and they also have the bonus the game becomes all the more difficult. All these things are for the first half, not for the second half. This is where we had the chance to break far ahead in the score, but we did not do it.”
Obradovic underlined that, in view of the rest of the games, there are some things that they must all understand: “It is a given fact that with the holidays getting closer, it is a very difficult period for everyone; however, Top16 follows after that and it is important. Anyway, I had said before that it does not matter what spot we land on in the group. We have to examine what we are going to do at the Top16 round, because we must all fight hard if we are to reach the playoffs. So, they must all understand how they must play, what the limits are for the team, what they need to do and where they must improve in order for us to do better. There are certain things that I do not like. Without concentration it is impossible to play, just like it is equally impossible to play without willpower. Only during certain periods of time did we try to play with concentration. Everyone must understand the little details that we change during the game. We faced a team that plays well and this was something that is also apparent in the 23 assists that CSKA passed around. They had the concentration that we were lacking at the beginning of the second half.”
The names of Kostas Tsartsaris and Stratos Perperoglou also got in the “conversation”: “We will continue the hard work…there is no doubt about that. I hope that starting New Year we will have with us Tsartsaris and Perperoglou. With them it going to be a different ballgame, although we know that it will take time for both of them, once the doctors ‘OK’ them to play. We must understand now already that they are going to need time. It is not going to be easy. We must also understand that the Top16 is getting too close for comfort and that we must play with a higher degree of concentration, as we did in the past, in order to qualify. Unless we do this, things are going to be tough.”
