The coach of Panathinaikos Superfoods, Xavi Pascual, said after the game against Real:
"First of all, thank you very much to our fans who helped us in an incredible way. I think the story of the game is very clear. We couldn't find the way to play defense in the first 20 minutes. On one side, due to our mistakes and on the other hand, Madrid played excellent. Any small mistake was punished with a basket, because they have incredible quality. After halftime, we changed the way of the game. We started to feel the game on defense and kept control on offense.
We passed the ball better and played better basketball, defense and offense. This is why we had chances to win in the end. When Madrid played zone, we didn't attack well twice in a row, but with two good defenses, we found a transition offense, scored a three-pointer and decided the game.
We are very happy about these last 20 minutes but it is very clear that we cannot start the game like today. It is a win that gives us a lot of credit - beating Madrid when it leads by 14 is very difficult. We are a team that, if we are not organized on defense, we make a lot of mistakes on offense. Our worst minutes on defense in the second quarter were also our worst on offense. We didn't have the ball in a smart, effective way. This is a very satisfactory win because it was a big game and we could give it to our fans, which makes us feel very good. We know we will have a lot of close games in the EuroLeague. With a team like ours, which always tries to be in the game, it will happen a lot. Being able to play well in those situations is important. When Madrid switched to zone defense, we lacked determination on offense and that could have cost us the game. We can win or lose, but I always ask my players not to lose their determination in key moments. We have played four close games so far and won three of them. We have to try to be effective in the final minutes."
