Ergin Ataman commented on Panathinaikos AKTOR’s convincing victory over Virtus Bologna in their first game of 2025:
“Today, we played perfect basketball. In our first game of 2025, we played like the true champions of 2024. We started very well offensively. Defensively, we had some issues with Clyburn, who is a great player and made some crucial shots.
In the second half, we continued in the same way. Virtus Bologna is a dangerous team. In the last quarter, we found solutions in offense with Nunn. Juancho was outstanding, Yurtseven played his best game, and Brown also contributed in the final moments.
The loss against Efes didn’t affect me or the team, as we were missing our best player, Kendrick Nunn. However, in that game, we realized we had defensive issues. We needed to be more aggressive and solid, and we worked on that.
The real celebration will come when we win the title in Abu Dhabi. After every win, we can celebrate for 15-20 minutes, but we can’t throw a party for just one, two, or three EuroLeague victories.”
On Player Performances
“Yurtseven is a player who needs to feel involved. Today, he took on the role of starting center, started well, and kept up his performance throughout. Last week, he was in excellent shape.
Mathias is the best center in the EuroLeague over the past 2-3 years. I’m very happy to work with him and that he will stay with us for another three years. Juancho has shown exceptional character and has improved his performance this year. He was also part of last year’s major victory.”
On Contract Renewals
“I’m very proud of our president, Dimitris Giannakopoulos, for giving Lessort a three-year extension after a serious injury. No one else in Europe would do such a thing. This shows that we are a family.”
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