Pascual: “Very Important Win For Us”

The coach of Panathinaikos Superfoods, Xavi Pascual stated after the game against Baskonia Gasteiz:

"We are happy for this win. It was a tough game. We didn't play well tonight, especially on offense, but also on defense in the second quarter, when we played really bad. In the second half, we fought a lot, played to win and in the end, it was a very important win for us. We were in a moment in which we were not playing well on offense but we had allowed just 9 points (late in the fourth quarter). We believed it was the way to win the game. There are no rules in the final seconds, you have to take the decision you think it will work for you. That doesn't mean that is the decision I would always take, depends on each game. It was an important win, but all of them are. We felt this was a chance for us to get to the upper part of the standings but know that Baskonia did not lose a close game until now. We managed to change that today and get this win, but I give it the same value than any other win has. Every game is different - we played more under pressure tonight and this is when we have to improve a lot of things. We missed 12 free throws and had 44% two-point shooting percentage, very low numbers for a game of this level. On the other hand, we learned we must keep fighting and play good defense even if we are not playing well."