Panathinaikoshead coach, Argyris Pedoulakis stressed in the Press Conference: “It was a close game, we were mediocre after 15’. During the first 15 minutes we were in the game but after that it seemed that we had no energy for the rest of the clash. And to a certain extent this is natural seeing that we were drained of energy after the game and the victory versus Real Madrid. Also we were faced with injuries in combination with Lasme’s fouls that led us to have an issue in our big men department. I of course must congratulate KAOD also, team that performed a great fame and gave us a hard time. Now we must focus because we have a hard and important game in Europe ahead of us. In the end the luckiest of maybe the most experienced one won.
KAOD head coach, Giorgos Kalafatakis stated: “Even though it wasn’t a phantasmagoric game, since defenses dominated, the fans enjoyed it though I believe, seeing that it was an intense and close encounter up to the very end. Overall I am very pleased in the boys and the effort they input. We lost by free throws, department in which we had bad range. And this is due to my players’ pressure, anxiety and inexperience. The way we lost the clash leaves the team with bitterness, since we had a chance to a great win and we missed out on it. We look ahead and continue working like this, believing that in the end of the championship we will be well positioned. Congratulations to Panathinaikos that seems to be gradually establishing a pace and it will do much better in the future. Teams aren’t built in a split second and this is something Argyris knows all too well hence he has been working correctly”.
Derwin Kitchen was present at the Press Conference also: “As a team we came to play in a game which we were not focused, result being us to make errors in tactics we had discussed to play according to. I would like to congratulate KAOD that performed a great game, enforced pressure on us, result being us committing many turnovers and losing quite a few shots. In the end we managed to win and this is the most important thing for the ensuing championship”.
Kostas Kakaroudis stated: “We made a tremendous effort all week, worked well and believed that if the opportunity would present itself we could win, because we knew that Panathinaikos would be tired after the battle with Real. The game was defined in the clutch from the line. I have the greatest part of responsibility because I missed an important free throw in end. This defeat however does not make us take a step back; all we have to do is hang onto the positives of the clash and proceed”.
