Panathinaikos nailed the win it was after versus Alba Berlin, Head Coach of the team, Argyris Pedoulakis, to focus on the elements which led to an easy prevalence but also the ensuing Top16.
“In today’s game we performed with maturity, we had great energy in defense, focus, against a team which through its last few games has lost in the last 2-3 minutes. And which is currently free of the stress to qualify. It fights in its games and is a dangerous team. We were mature, team spirited, something that shows up in assist accumulation. The fact that we had the return of our two injured point guards helped a great deal. It was something to refresh the team and offer solutions”.
When asked about Unicaja Malaga’s win against Real in Madrid, he stated: “Our group is tough. You saw what happened in the game Efes versus Bamberg. Zalgiris performed well during regular season and is essentially out of the game right now. Many scenarios exist. The thing above all is what we are to do. That is the most important issue and to see when the time comes, our next game versus Real Madrid; a team which during the last few games seemed to be huffing and puffing. And it is not odd. This year has been a Marathon, non-stop and all results are open. We played in the first round of the Top16 essentially without creators… Certain impressions were created… We had stated that we are in a very tough group, that all the teams are tough and we were justified in our statements”.
Pedoulakis was asked about the team’s stride since from the beginning it was clear in Panathinaikos upon the new starting off the team is performing, that the goal is the next game: “We are approaching these last three Top16 games as we approach all games of the season. Every time we step out on court we want to challenge the win. The team has committed steps forward, even though we had many unfortunate moments, even at… the All Star Game with Schortsanitis, who is extremely important for us. We do not want to change our mindset now. We wish to approach every game separately. We want to give our all in every game, to know that we have tried our best and given it our all while leaving the court. We do not want anyone saying that we failed to try”.
Alba Berlin Head Coach, Sasa Obradovic stressed: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos. It deserved to win the game. They showed us were we where. It was a good experience against such a great team. We came out onto the court, maybe behind more respect for the opponent than appropriate. We failed to do the usual things we do. On the other hand, Panathinaikos had to win; for 40 minutes it performed at 100%. It is hard to win a team which has players in every position, which is a better team, as simple as that. I can’t be disappointed with the result, because we have more games to play, in which we can and must play better. From the very beginning this team was made to play in Eurocup. In any event, we caught a wild card and advanced. It is a success for us to be in the Top16. German teams have not reached so far… We have 6 years to get here. From one aspect it is a great success and perhaps with a greater budget maybe we could have been more competitive. No one should be disappointed, because this is what we’ve got. And experience does not exist. Almost none of the player had played in Euroleague. Experience is needed, endurance in hard work and quality”.
