Panathinaikos got an easy W against AENK and coach Argyris Pedoulakis was happy on how his players performed on the floor.
“We were serious since minute one and we got a big margin. Achieving that, what we wanted was to share the time, using less Diamantidis, Bramos and Maciulis. AENK is a serious and disciplined team and I wish the coach all the best. We had in our agenda 10 trips so far. Basically, we are on airports and airplanes for 40-45 days. We have only practiced 8 times all together. All these practices were the day before a game. Everybody knows that the practices a day prior to a game are different. We need to practice all together. We need to stay in Athens and practice. It’s also the psychological part. There were time that we arrived home at 14.00 and at 16.00 we had to leave. It’s not easy. We are tired, but we have to live this fact and to gain whatever we can in this tough period of the season. We find ourselves “paying” for the punishment and the Eurobasket. Lasme and Ukic are still not ready regarding their physical condition. They are two very important players for us. We need time and practices in order to get exactly where we want to be”.
Nikos Pappas, stated: “It was one more game for Basket League OPAP in a great atmosphere. We were serious, we got a margin through our defense and we got the win. Our coach had the chance to test some things a few days before the game in Tel Aviv”.
Ilias Papatheodorou (coach, AENK), noted: “In this particular game we wanted to check our reaction after the really bad of us game against Panionios. Our task was tough, since we were facing Panathinaikos, while at the same time we had to face some injury problems. Panathinaikos came here after a defeat and we know that it’s a team that reacts to negative results. Our opponent got a big difference in the first quarter and we tried to avoid watching the margin expanding. This is a big moment for our club. We never had so many people in a press conference. Panathinaikos is the biggest team in Europe the last 15 years! Last year although the team was rebuilded managed to get the double in Greece and to approach a ticket to Euroleague Final Four. It’s a blessing for Greek Basketball that teams like Panathinaikos, and also Olympiacos to have Greek coaches. I wish all the best to Panathinaikos on achieving its three goals. We have a tough road to walk”.
Spyros Diamantopoulos (player, AENK), stated: “I want to congratulate Panathinaikos and coach Pedoulakis for their victory. But I would also like to congratulate our team. We were coming of a really bad game against Panionios. I believe we proved that we put a closure to that”.
