Panathinaikos is out of the EuroLeague after losing Game 5 against Valencia, and the reaction quickly turned into a major controversy. Ergin Ataman congratulated the Spanish team for coming back from 0-2 to 3-2, but then shifted the focus to the officiating: “I want to congratulate Valencia. They played excellent basketball all season. Coming back from 0-2 to 3-2 is very important.”
Then came the criticism: “We played terribly in the first half. Offensively, we missed everything. In the second half we had the chance to come back, but we missed two crucial layups, lost control and they won.” For Ataman, however, the key number was elsewhere: “Valencia shot 29 free throws and we shot 8. Like in Game 4. It is very strange.”
The Turkish coach focused especially on Kendrick Nunn: “This was the third straight game in which the second-best scorer in the EuroLeague did not shoot a single free throw. Third game in a row. In Game 3, Game 4 at OAKA and tonight in Valencia, he did not go to the line once.” His final line was even stronger: “If the officiating criteria are the same at the Final Four, Valencia will be EuroLeague champion.”
But Ataman himself became the center of the storm. When asked about his previous statement linking his future to winning either the EuroLeague or the domestic league, he cut the press conference short: “Thank you very much for the press conference. Goodbye.” Shortly after, Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay attacked him after Ataman’s comment about TJ Shorts: “Disrespectful and outrageous. By the way, coach Ataman, from what I heard, your players felt they had no coach.”
Inside Panathinaikos, the disappointment was massive. Mathias Lessort did not hide behind excuses: “It is hard to analyze what happened, it is hard for the club, for the people. The feeling is that we did not show up, we were not ready, we were unprepared for a game like this.” The French center added: “This is not the image we had to show, and it does not fit when you wear the Panathinaikos jersey.”
Lessort also apologized to the fans: “We won twice here and did not do what we had to do at home. I cannot explain why we were so bad. We thank the fans who supported us here and at OAKA. We made them sad and we apologize for the image we showed. Now we have to focus on the championship and do it for them too.”
Dimitris Giannakopoulos also reacted with a bitter but defiant social media message: “Bitterness passes with bitterness. We have experienced many of these bitter moments, we know how to come back.” Kendrick Nunn’s wife defended the player: “One bad night can never erase the history of a champion. Still him. Always will be.” And she sent a message to Gate 13: “There is no other place in Europe where we would rather be. Be sure and believe that we will return.”
Panathinaikos leaves the EuroLeague with bitterness, accusations, self-criticism and tension. Ataman remains polemical, as always, but this time he is also at the center of criticism like never before. The Final Four is gone, Valencia moves on to Athens, and the Greens now have only the domestic league left to turn a painful night into a response.
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