Panathinaikos AKTOR Head Coach Ergin Ataman stated that it was a justified reaction for club president Dimitris Giannakopoulos to invite everyone in the team to resign after the match they lost to Aris in the Greek Basketball League, and said that this situation gave him extra motivation.
“HE ATTACKED ALL OF US, NOT JUST ME”
Ataman made a statement at the press conference held after the match in which they defeated the Spanish representative Real Madrid 82-81 in the 26th week of the Basketball EuroLeague.
Stating that many people from the Turkish and Greek press called him after President Giannakopoulos’ reaction on social media, Ataman said, “They asked why I did not react to President Giannakopoulos’s post. The answer to this question is very simple. He is like me. Sometimes I attack my players at the press conference. He attacked not only me but all of us. This is normal. He is a passionate person. He wants to win, he puts effort into this, invests and spends money. President Giannakopoulos is right.” he said.
Ataman stated that he was sometimes aggressive towards his players in front of the media and said:
“This time he was aggressive towards all of us. He was right. To be honest, this motivated me. We had a meeting with the players. I told them important things. I told them that everyone was waiting for the 8th championship, but they should forget about it and focus on the next game. In my first season, we progressed step by step while becoming champions of the EuroLeague, which no one expected. We have to fight in every match. I respect Giannakopoulos. I thank him for motivating me extra.”
