Zeljko Obradovic had every reason to smile after Panathinaikos’ victory over Fenerbahce/Ulker and congratulated his players, but also the fans for their support.
The “clover’s” Serbian coach underlined: “It was an important victory for us and I believe that after seven days we played an equally good game as the one in Constantinople. Our only problem was some turnovers that we committed and our opponents punished us for them. Generally speaking, we played a good game and if there is something that we need to change it is the speed in which we execute set offenses as well as the way we react to fast-breaks. In any case, it was an important victory; congratulations to the players, but also to fans for creating an excellent atmosphere.”
When asked about the game against Olympiakos on Sunday, he said: “We have at our disposal the same number of days to prepare for it as we have every year. For us it is very simple; what we need to do is change the chip in our heads tomorrow and start thinking about the game against Olympiakos. In every game we try to play as well as we possibly can whether our opponent is Olympiakos or not. This is what we are going to do now too: try to play better than our previous game.”
On his side, Fenerbahce/Ulker coach, Neven Spahija, underlined: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos…They are a better team than we are right now and played better today. On one hand it is not good to play against Panathinaikos here because they are always very good; on the other hand, it is also good because you always leave here with homework to do when you return. In the second half we played better quality basketball not only compared to the second half, but also compared to the first game between us. Free throws were a big problem for us because our opponents always know how to get to the line and win the bonus. They know how to punish the slightest mistake. Another big problem for us was our many turnovers. In the first half we had 12 turnovers and finished the game with a total of 21, which is too high a number to allow you to play. We must return to Turkey, try to win the next two games, while at the same time wish that Panathinaikos defeats Unics Kazan in order for us to qualify.” When asked whether the fact that the Final Four is held in Turkey puts extra pressure on them, he replied: “The Final Four takes place on the European side of Turkey, not the Asian one; it will be held in the Sinan Erdem Dome arena. If it were on our home arena, then there might have been extra pressure. Pressure is something we put on ourselves.”
Curtis Jerrells underlined: “We committed many turnovers against a good team. To defeat such a team you need to be more cautious. We kept cutting down the difference, but they were way swift in retorting. We generally played well but should have been more careful and focused.”
