Panathinaikos Head Coach, Argyris Pedoulakis, stated after the conquering of the Greek Cup against Olympiacos.
“It was an important game since it defined a title. We held onto some parts of our game since our last encounter, especially in defense. The third foul and the technical called on Lasme changed the game; up to that point he had done a great job. Of course it is all in the game. We had Bramos’ injury on his left arm. Olympiacos has quality, it is a molded team and it managed to cover its trail and shift things on court to its advantage. However, for the greatest part of the game we were the better opponents, we were cooler in defining moments and got the win, which is extremely important in the Panathinaikos new era. Through these games the players acquire experiences”.Concerning the key to success, he commented: “Olympiacos is a team which wants to get game in the paint. Today we did not allow it to get any. We put a player up front and one behind. We also improved in a department which killed us in the previous matchup; rebounds. Lasme’s presence was important and made it a whole different ball-game; only three guys knew of such games from personal experience, Diamantidis, Tsartsaris and Sofo. Olympiacos picked up its pace in the second half, it tried and enforced pressure. While performing in a set game we were good. Olympiacos was the better team to run the open field”. About Roko Leni Ukic’ astounding performance he said: “He has been inputting quite an effort for quite some time now. He has improved immensely in frontcourt but he also did an exceptional job in defense. He is trying to change the way he plays. He was very good in both Rethymno and the Stadium of Peace and Friendship. We supported him when, back in the encounter versus Malaga, he was booed by the entire arena”.
About the riots, he stressed: “This is something we have been seeing for years. We have all thrown water in the direction of this windmill of stupidity. If one are in the last ten years has changed that is the player-coaches one. The Hellenic society issues will not be solved by us. A huge effort is being made by both teams. These are conveying issues of the Hellenic society. Everything has aided to the mess, even the Front Pages. It is a more general discussion which cannot take place here and now. Bothathletes and coaches have helped. Ourrelations are exceptional”.
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