Ergin Ataman and Cedi Osman spoke to the media on behalf of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR, ahead of tomorrow’s Play-In matchup against AS Monaco (21/4, 21:00).

In his statement, the coach noted: “It is a final. It is not the time to think about a second chance. It is a final for us, for our fans. They must create an amazing and ‘hot’ atmosphere. We are playing against a big and experienced team. We know it is a single game, it will be difficult. We are ready for battle and to get the win, in order to go to the Playoffs.

Tomorrow they will not play with eight players. They will play with a full roster. This is different. They have 7–8 players who can play easily, but I hear they will be full, so we must be ready. Of course, I would have liked us to be in the top six and prepare for the Playoffs. This year the differences were small. Only Olympiacos had a great season and then Valencia. After that, all the other teams are at the same level. Real Madrid finished third, we beat them twice. Fener finished fourth, we beat them in Istanbul, we lost here with a buzzer beater. We lost to Hapoel by one point, we had the same record as Monaco.

There are always dangerous games. There are no guarantees for teams. After this season, all teams are at the same level and it is a matter of the day and how many players are healthy for a team to reach the Final Four. It is a great season in the EuroLeague, many teams fought until the end. There is quality, there are great players, and this is good for the fans watching.

Many point out that Monaco currently has eight or nine healthy players, but usually at this point of the season all teams play with a shorter rotation, so it is about the same. Yes, I think it is the same. The players they have now are the same ones who played in the regular season. I do not think they were playing with 11 or 12 players. It was the same rotation. The only player they are missing, I think, is Mirotic, right? So they still have excellent players. As I said, a difficult game awaits us and although they faced several problems, they did a good job to come back. We must be ready.”

From his side, Cedi Osman stated: “The fans will play a huge role. All season they supported us, they showed belief. This is exactly what we need. Obviously, tomorrow is another day for them to support us, to be with us, and we know that with them we can win every game. I think during the season we had many ups and downs. I hope we win tomorrow and in the Playoffs we will need to have fewer of those. Fewer ups and downs, more ups. To be more consistent during the 40 minutes.

The last two years we have been at the Final Four and this year the Final Four is in our arena. We are doing everything to return there, in front of our fans. I hope, as I said, we will be more consistent. We have a team that knows how to play in such games, in the Playoffs. Every game counts, but now we are thinking about only one thing: Monaco.

I think that when you play at home, everyone expects you to be there (at the Final Four) and it is logical. We expect it as well. But sometimes things do not go the way you want. However, that does not matter, as long as we are still in the Playoffs race, the goal is there. Last year we had home-court advantage, we lost one game here against Efes and then we went to Istanbul and won Game 3. Yes, home-court advantage is important, but more important is how you play. If we play like in the last 8–9 games, I think we have good, very good chances to reach the Final Four again.”