The defense that needs improvement, the balance that they are looking for, and the difference that the Panathinaikos’ fans made once they entered the arena to the benefit of the team were just some of the points of reference in what Zeljko Obradovic stated in the postgame press conference after the end of the game against Panionios.
“I have talked about the schedule we have for this month and everyone knows that it is a difficult one, starting with the game against Peristeri and tonight’s game against Panionios. Despite the fact that two valuable players for them were out today, we respect them and had to play a serious game. I believe we played well, although we need to examine some little details. For example, without free-throw bonus they shot many easy points. We must find a balance and same as we play well in offence, we must equally improve our defense as well, because if you are a team that wants to be at the top in every competition you participate in, then you must know how to handle some situations that emerge during each game. Another important thing is how much the atmosphere changed when the team fans came over from the football game. Everything changed…the players, the way we played, the passion and the motivation we had. It is difficult to play without fans; now that we have three games on the road, our fans will also have a chance to rest…I hope that they come back to help us after that.”
When asked whether he is pleased with the condition of his players after returning from the holiday break, Obradovic underlined: “I said after the game against Peristeri too that it is very important to work with 16 players. We work better, with more substitutions, and get more out of each player. In the end we will see how well we have worked. I now see all my players making efforts and you have also seen Mike play the way he knows to play all these years. We want to help all our players this way too and I hope that the rest of the players help us even more. For a team such as ours, when you have back-to-back difficult games we must have all your players ready.”
Sarunas Jasikevicius, who was there at the press conference next to Panathinaikos’ coach, stated: “we are improving day by day. Tonight we faced a good and serious team in a serious way. We have a difficult week ahead of us with two on-the-road games. It is a good preparation for us going into the Top16.”
Panionios’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, stated: “It is always difficult for the guest team to speak in this arena. We have had absences and guys that did not have much participation time had to play. It was a good opportunity for them to see how good players play and get some kind of gain out it. We played against the two top teams. With Olympiakos we were competitive, but the natural thing was for us to lose. Tonight we did not have expectations for anything better. I wanted us to play harder in defense, but when you enter this area to play everything is affected. This is the way the Greek championship is. This kind of games is just a matter of… procedural formality. We are waiting for Boisa and Batis in order to be able to work better.”
In his turn, Vassilis Xanthopoulos stated: “First of all, happy good year and in good health to you all. We played a very tough game against a very good team. We were good in offence, but poor in defense and this is also due to Panathinaikos as well and the speed in which they were playing. We are now looking ahead to the game against Kavala. I wish Panathinaikos the best of success in all competitions.”
