Panathinaikos, Ergin Ataman: “Someone today played a really shameful game”

Despite a narrow 79-78 road victory against EuroLeague bottom-dwellers ASVEL Villeurbanne, the mood within the Panathinaikos Athens camp is anything but celebratory. Following Round 25, the Greens’ head coach Ergin Ataman once again took aim at his players, using scathing language to describe the attitude of certain members of the squad.

Despite utilizing an 11-man rotation, Ataman pulled no punches, even while refraining from naming specific names:”Some of our players gave a truly shameful performance,” he told EuroLeague TV. “This is not the level of play expected of these athletes.”

The Turkish tactician then shifted the focus to the absence of Kendrick Nunn, who remains sidelined with an ankle injury:”I hope Nunn comes back soon, so we can field players who are actually up to the level of this competition.”

With this win, Panathinaikos improves to a 15-10 record, solidifying their standing in the table. However, Ataman’s outbursts are nothing new. In mid-January, he called out the team after a domestic league game, and earlier this year, he specifically singled out Juancho Hernangomez and Dinos Mitoglou for their performances.