In his statements after the game against Maccabi Electra, Zeljko Obradovic insisted on Panathinaikos’ turnovers, considering that they were at the root of Panathinaikos’ defeat. However, he also referred to the last play of the game, maintaining that Jasikevicius drew a foul, without considering though as an excuse for his team’s defeat.
Panathinaikos’ coach underlined: “Two days ago I had said that this was going to be a different game today and indeed it was. Our energy was different and so was the way we played too. We did not press the ball. In the first quarter 11 out of the 20 points we received were easy points without pressure. If you do not press, they will score. This means lack of concentration. In the most difficult quarter for us, when our opponents had foul trouble and we had the advantage, we played very well and could have won. I told the players that we lost due to our own mistakes. Clearly, Maccabi played better than they played on Tuesday, but victory was lost due to our own turnovers and not due to their improvement”, he initially said only to continue: “It is certainly very difficult to compete at such high level within 48 hours, but our defeat changes absolutely nothing for us, since we are going to Tel Aviv to play knowing that we have both the quality and the experience to make a comeback. Congratulations to Maccabi Tel Aviv for showing character and verifying what I said on Tuesday: they know how to play. Congratulations also to my players for fighting to the end, despite the fact that there were some turnovers. Congratulations to the fans too for the excellent atmosphere.” In spite of no questions being asked to Obradovic, he “closed” his own statements with a comment regarding the last play of the overtime: “I would like to make a comment about the last play, since we watched the last minute of the overtime and it is a foul to Jasikevicius. We know that. But, we also know our own mistakes. We cannot take responsibility for the referees, but I do not know why the referee who was at a distance of two meters did not assess the foul. Our own turnovers, though, are far more important than referees’ mistakes.”
Maccabi coach, David Blatt, was happy with his team’s victory and this became apparent from his statements: “It was an exceptional game, and unbelievable game. The fans have certainly seen anything one can see in a basketball game; many different things. The game could have gone either way, since we did not dominate the game as Panathinaikos did in the first one. I am sure that many did not believe we could win”, he said at the beginning and then continued: “I had said after the first game that we had to improve our rebounding and be more responsible in protecting the ball. In the first game we made many silly mistakes and as a result we did not even have the chance to play. Today we were more responsible. We must certainly not forget the two incredible shots by Blu, which gave us the victory. Of course, special mention must be made to Ohayon’s excellent performance; he deserves credit for this win.” As regards the rest of the games in the series he noted: “Our victory means nothing more that the mere fact that we tied the series. Getting to 1-1 does not make things easier for us, nor does it make it harder for Panathinaikos. Now we are returning to Israel to play against and great team with a great.” He concluded by saying: “In the first game Panathinaikos played a great game, while at the same time we did not perform as well as we should have. Today, Panathinaikos played very well again, but we too were also much better. We tied the series, but there is still a long way ahead of us and a lot of competition ahead. From the beginning I had the feeling that today was our chance to win; not in the first game. On Tuesday in Israel it is going to be an entirely new game.”
