Mathias Lessort (Panathinaikos pivot), after the victory against Fenerbahçe (73-57) Friday evening in the semi-finals: “When we defend like this evening (Friday), we are very hard to beat, our chances of winning are multiplied. That’s the key for us, we have one of the best defenses, and when we hold a team below 70, 65 points, it’s hard for the others to prevent us from going beyond that mark. It will be decisive on Sunday too.
I’m not completely satisfied with my performance. I had a lot of turnovers (five), I missed easy shots for me, even a dunk. I’m happy that we qualified, but I know I can do better, and I remain demanding of myself. Do I want it to be the best game of my life on Sunday? I hope so, but I can’t be sure that is the case. I will try to give everything. If it’s possible, that would be wonderful. But personal statistics don’t matter. The important thing is to achieve victory. We will have to be ready to play to our maximum. »
Sarunas Jasikevicius (Fenerbahçe coach): “Panathinaikos were themselves, unlike us. The Euroleague season is over for us, and I feel a lot of respect for my players. I want to thank them for carrying us this far. In defense, we performed well and even if we conceded easy baskets, we held Pana below its standards. In attack, however, we were horrible. Horrible. The ball didn’t move enough, and when we found shots, we didn’t convert them. We were too static to achieve anything.
I knew we were capable of reaching the Final Four, of winning the European title. Someone asked me if it wasn’t already good that we were here, meaning that maybe it wasn’t a big deal to lose. On the contrary, it is a tragedy that we lost. When you’re at the Final Four, you’re two games away from the Holy Grail. Of course, we have a general manager, leaders, we work to progress. But as a competitor, I cannot be satisfied with that. I don’t care about next year. We didn’t seize the opportunity. The future was now, and today the opportunity has passed. »
Ergin Ataman (Panathinaikos coach): “We controlled most of the match and developed exceptional defense, while sharing the ball. We had a very high level start to the match. Then we started taking unnecessary shots, losing balls, Fenerbahçe started coming back with 3-point shots in transition and their pick and pop game.
Our changes in strategy, notably the confidence placed in our elite defensive players, notably Kostas Antetokounmpo and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, who had already been decisive against Maccabi in the quarter-finals, paid off. And while Nick Calathes did a good job on Kendrick Nunn to reduce his impact, others stood out and we were able to use our rebounding advantage.
Holding them to 7 points in the last period made the difference in the end. In the locker room, before the match, the message that I wanted to convey, particularly to our young people who are discovering the Final Four, is to play this match as if it were a match like any other, to forget everything. and to focus on the game plan and defense, as we had done all season. »
2024-05-24 19:57:22
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