Ergin Ataman: This basketball was miserable

Panathinaikos secured a victory over Maroussi in the league, but the atmosphere at the “green” club is highly tense following Ergin Ataman’s words.

The team is coming off back-to-back losses to Olympiacos in the National Cup and EuroLeague. Immediately after the Maroussi game, the Turkish coach’s shouts were heard in the locker room.

First, on ERT’s cameras, Ataman made his first remarks: “I don’t care about the lead we had in the first three quarters. We played poorly in the end; the performance of some of our players was unacceptable. We need to work even harder. This is not the image I expect from my team. This basketball was miserable.”

Ergin Ataman after #paobc game vs Maroussi (82-71) for the Greek League. Ouch… pic.twitter.com/ySJLM6FBVf

— Yannis Psarakis (@YPsar) October 9, 2023

In the press conference, the concept was reiterated and elaborated: “It’s a dangerous mentality. We need to make important decisions immediately. We discussed it in the locker room as well. Tomorrow, we will begin the hard work to get ourselves ready for Bayern.”

Regarding the transfer market: “When Mitoglou and Papapetrou return, they will give us a lot. We are missing two important players, and it hurts us. We will see in the next one or two games. If necessary, we will go to the market, we will change players. Our goals are significant, and if we understand that there is a problem, we will proceed with changes.”