Euroleague Play Offs land in OAKA tomorrow. CSKA Moscow heads the series 2-0 after beating Panathinaikos twice in Russia. Panathinaikos hosts Game 3 tomorrow (21.45, NovaSports2). The only goal is to win, in order to stay alive on the way to the Final Four. Fragkiskos Alvertis and Mike Bramos spoke about the game and the target.
"What you see never lies", Alvertis stated, when he was asked about the two different faces Panathinaikos showed in the first and the second game of the series: "We could have won Game 1, but Game 2 was totally different. This doesn't matter right now. We have to be focused in our goal. The series comes to OAKA. What we have to and what we want to do is to take it to the end. To win in our home and to claim the qualification in Moscow in Game 5".
Alvertis know that it's not going to be easy: "We never said it was going to be easy. We know exactly who we are facing. We believe in our potential and we'll try to achieve our goal. There is not time to analyze things too much, or to overthink some things. The games are so close, that you simply have to overcome everything and move on".
Alvertis was asked which was the biggest problem for Panathinaikos in the first two games and if the big bodies CSKA has in its roster is the main problem: "This is definitely a problem. They have really tall players and good athletes and we have to find a solution to this problem, but it's not the only thing we have to focus on. We 'll prepare some things and we have to stay true to our game plan".
The next thing is that the series lands at OAKA and when he was asked if the arena will be full tomorrow, he answered: "OAKA has been full many times in the past and we want full house tomorrow too. The fans have been our 6th player many times in the past and I believe the same thing will happen tomorrow".
Bramos: "The best team is the one which will qualify"
Panathinaikos falls 2-0 against CSKA Moscow and the Greens are with their back against the wall, knowing that the only option for the third game is a victory. Mike Bramos know it all too well: "We had a good game 1 and a bad game 2. Now we are home and we are going to look again one game at a time. We want to have a good practice and give everything we have, because we know it's one loss and we are out. We have to take care of the game tomorrow".
Asked what went wrong in Panathinaikos' performance in the second game, Bramos answered: "We made a lot of mistakes. The first quarter was good, but then we let it get away too much. We have to play with a lot more concentration, a lot more energy and I think we will tomorrow".
Bramos confirmed after a relative question that the big bodies of CSKA Moscow was a problem, but added that this was not the only reason the team lost: "They do have big bodies, they play good defense too all five guys protected their basket really well. So, we have to be aggressive first thing and then to make good shots".
The fact that Panathinaikos plays at home is certainly a plus for Bramos: "It's always important to play at OAKA in front of our fans. They always give us the extra energy to push as to play as hard as we can and we are looking forward to playing tomorrow".
Asked if this 2-0 declares CSKA Moscow the absolute favorite, Mike Bramos replied: "They won two games, but I don't who the favorite is still because it's not over. we are not worried about favorites or anything, because the best team will win the series".
Numbers
Panathinaikos and CSKA Moscow have faced each other 27 times and the Russians took the lead by 14-13.
Dimitris Diamantidis needs 5 assists to head the Euroleague all time list. Theo Papaloukas is now at the first place (977).He also needs 6 assists to become the players who dished the most assists in one season. Finally, he is one 3 points shot made shy from the 300 mark.
Jonas Maciulis is leading Euroleague in steals this season with 43. Diamantidis is at the fourth place of the list (36). Maciulis needs 12 points to reach 500 with Panathinaikos in Euroleague.
Stephane Lasme needs 4 block shots for the second place in the all time list. He also needs 6 points to reach 500 points with Panathinaikos in Euroleague, 7 rebounds to reach 300 and 1 block shot to reach 80.
