Zeljko Obradovic’s had mixed feelings after the end of the game, since he may have been unhappy with the performance but at the same time expressed his satisfaction with Panathinaikos’ qualification to the “Top8” round of the competition.
The “clover’s” coach underlined: ‘I said yesterday that EA7 Emporio Armani Milano is now a different team and competes much better. They showed that today and I have to say that they deserved to win. We played very poorly. We gave them a lot of “cheap” points; and I am saying this because it is obvious that offensively this was one of our worst games. But we were also very bad in defense too. We must play better in offense and have higher concentration in defense. Nevertheless, I did like the fact that we fought to the end and despite our poor performance we had 14 possessions more than our opponent. We took quite a few offensive rebounds and some steals. Having more possessions is something that we always try to do; if after managing that, you do not succeed in scoring ….then it is only natural for you to lose. Today we had a tragic success rate of 12/32 in the paint, two three meters from the basket, and 2/16 three-point shots. With percentages as bad as this it is very difficult to win. The funny thing is that even by playing as we did today, we still qualified to the playoffs. Therefore there is no reason for me not to be happy! Plus, we can go to Kazan and end up ranking in the top spot if we win there. Of course, when one speaks like that, everything seems easy. But if we want to do something, we must change and play very seriously. We must watch this game and identify many things. Congratulations to Armani and thank you to our fans for the great atmosphere they created.”
His team may have no chance whatsoever of qualifying despite its big victory in the OAKA, but EA7 Emporio Armani coach, Sergio Scariolo, was more than happy and was clearly shown in his statements.
“We are happy for this victory. It is the first victory of the team in the OAKA, against a very important team with an excellent coach and very good players. Today we played a complete game, with many good choices in our shooting, good passing game, and the only aspect that we did not do that well was the rebounds. This victory will help us “grow” us a team and increase our self-confidence. I am also very happy for the young players who played with us, such as Gentile, Radosevic, and Melli. When we got to be 15 points up in the score we thought of going after the score difference we had been defeated by in Milan, but as soon as we thought about it we lost our concentration and did not make it….We definitely regret playing without Bremer and Hairston in the first game, but things like that are part of sports. Nevertheless, we proved that when we have a full roster we can play on this level.”
The Italian coach noted that his team is now “building” something good and go after the best thing it can get in the Italian league. As regards Antonis Fotsis, who was warmheartedly applauded by the fans, he stressed: “We came to play good basketball and achieved that….we knew that we had almost no chance of qualifying. I have mixed feelings; we have played with these guys many times and we know one another, but of course each of us plays for their team to win. Panathinaikos’ fans come to the arena to help the team as they always do. They created a very nice atmosphere for the game. Being awarded makes me particularly happy. I have lived a lot with the fans…I am particularly honored to receive this award. Panathinaikos is a team that always aims high, so I hope and believe to see them in the final this season too.”
