Dusko Ivanovic stated after the game against Barcelona: “It is a pity that we lost that crucial home game, in front of such an enthusiastic crowd. Unfortunately we played very bad for some minutes in the second quarter in which the team showed that didn’t have the faith. I remember what happened when we still had the lead, 32-30. We missed a shot and since then Barcelona charged a 10-0 run and commanded the match. However we came back in the second half and had some chances to win
it, but it didn’t work out. There are five more games to play in order to advance to the quarterfinals.”
The coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi Paskual, said: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos for the game they played tonight and for the big crowd as well. It has been a very interesting, competitive and emotional game between two great teams and I am very proud for our victory and the way we handled the situations. Panathinaikos started dynamically, but as the time went by we made the adjustments needed. Juan Carlos Navarro was a key factor for us and drove us in the second quarter, but later we were in hurry to finish the game. Fortunately we controlled the rhythm and got a very important win here. We are very happy for what we have achieved tonight and we are looking forward to keep playing like that.”
