Pitino: "I am really proud of Papagiannis"

The head coach of Panathinaikos OPAP stated after the end of the game against FC Bayern Munich:

"I think I have enjoyed this game as much as any game here because it is all desire that came up with the victory. That, and Papagiannis. Unbelievable play. He just took over the game, his defensively was brilliant, brilliant rebounding the basketball in only 18 minutes of play. I am really proud of him. I told him yesterday he is going to get 5 bocks and 12 rebounds, and he let me down with only 4 blocks and 5 rebounds. But if he would have played normal minutes, he would have had a career night. I said at halftime, three key turnovers got them back in the game, but any time you allow 50% from the three-point line, you are going to lose the game. But our rebounding was so spectacular, our defense in the fourth quarter, holding them to 8 points, was so spectacular. And the correlation, Papagiannis played the first quarter and played the last quarter. He was able to play Monroe, he did brilliant things out there. Took the ball off the rim in a key moment, had a key rebound in the game, kept the ball live on the offensive glass and tipped it back to players. Just the best game he had here and I hope it now propels him to a new level."