Panathinaikos faces tomorrow (23/2, 22:00) ΕΑ7 Emporio Armani Milano in the context of the Euroleague Top16 5th competition date Zeljko Obradovic referred to this game in the pre-game press conference that has been established to take place before the home games of the team in this competition.
“Tomorrow we are playing against EA7 Emporio Armani Milano and what we have to say is that if we win we will be in the playoffs. This is our first objective. It is a different team now compared to the team we faced a month ago. They play much better. The first thing that makes it different is Hairston’s return. He is a player that is very important to them and is the top scorer for the team. He is their main creator. The second new face in the team is Bremer, with whom they have signed. He has played only one Euroleague game with them, but has played in both the Italian cup and the Italian championship. They have a lot of calls for these players and they are both very aggressive. The latest piece of news about their roster is that Drew Nicholas is no longer on it. He was an important player for them, but they decided not to continue with him.
In any case, it is important for us to be ready to play aggressively in yet another game and compete the same way we did in our first game in Italy. All the players must be ready. It was a real joy for us to see practice sessions taking place without absentees, since Batiste and Smith participate in practice normally with the team. One more time we repeat that we would like our fans to be here with us too, because with them everything is possible and we want them by our side.”
Obradovic was asked the extent to which the coaches’ work becomes more difficult by the fact that EA7 Emporio Armani Milano preceded to last minute changes in its roster, particular the one that concerns Drew Nicholas: “It is not at all difficult for us. Some other player will take Drew’s place in whatever call the team has. It might be Gentile, Hairston, Bremer… What happened was their own decision and I would not like to make any comment on that whatsoever. We know everything about the two – essentially – new players, know how they play and must be concentrated in order to stop them. And not just those two players; this goes without saying. They have many good players; they have quality as a team and play much better compared to the first round. As far as tactics is concerned, some things may be a little different, such as for example Hairston, who will play more in position 3, and the question remains as to how long and what way they will use Mancinelli or whether they will compete with three peripheral players. They have Rocca and Bouroussis in position five, who are completely different as players, or Fotsis in position 5. If Fotsis plays in position 5 it is a completely different game. These are things that we know, are ready for and talk with the team on, so that whichever players they lineup on court we can be ready for it.”
Panathinaikos’ coach was asked as to whether he worries that the Italians, given the quality he too underlined that they have, may find their own competitive potential peak: “They play better, they have quality, and they have an excellent coach. Their gameplay is something we have discussed. They have the quality to play even better. I just hope this will not happen tomorrow (he laughs). And I will insist that with these two players they are a different team. From the tactics point of view, they have many possibilities with this roster and, I insist, a coach who is excellent. He is very, very good.”
When asked as to how he will welcome Antonis Fotsis, Zeljko Obradovic was more than clear and extended the answer to Drew Nicholas and Giannis Bouroussis: “Fotsis is a member of the family and so is Drew. To us, they will be family members for life. They are players who contributed a lot to Panathinaikos. I am happy that they were with us. Given the circumstances this summer, it was impossible to keep them with us and that is all. I hope that the fans will also recognize everything that Fotsis has done for the team. I would like to as our fans to treat Giannis Bouroussis in a proper manner too, because his behavior there in Milan was excellent. He is a very nice guy.”
