Panathinaikos Aktor Athens escaped Thessaloniki with a hard-fought 74–69 win over PAOK in the Greek Basket League, but the result did little to calm head coach Ergin Ataman, who launched a scathing postgame assessment of his squad.
Despite controlling the game early, Ataman was furious with his team’s second-half performance:
“We played great in the first half, but in the second half we had foul trouble with Osman and Holmes, and we also had problems with Grant. We had zero contribution from some players who ruined our system. It was a very difficult game and we risked losing it.”
Sloukas stands out as a true leader
Amid the criticism, Ataman singled out Kostas Sloukas for special praise, highlighting his mentality and leadership:
“Despite being 36 years old, he showed that he is a leader, a strong character, even in difficult moments. It’s one thing to be a good player, another to be a great player. Being great is hard — and that’s what Sloukas is.”
Missing stars and a clear warning
Ataman also pointed to the absence of key players and the lack of impact from the bench:
“We were without three important players — Nunn, Rogkavopoulos and Mitoglou. We had problems with players coming off the bench who destroyed our system. Basically, only five players were playing. Sloukas showed character. We need those three players; we missed them today. Some people don’t deserve to play on this team.”
The Panathinaikos coach concluded with a blunt message about the near future:
“We are waiting for the injured players to return. Then, those who don’t deserve it won’t play. Now it’s too late for changes.”
Strong words following a narrow road win, underlining Ataman’s high standards and the growing internal pressure within Panathinaikos despite the positive result.
Commenta
Visualizza commenti