Ergin Ataman and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis spoke to the media shortly before Panathinaikos BC AKTOR departed for Tel Aviv, where they will face Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv (22/01, 21:05) as part of Round 24 of the EuroLeague regular season.

In his remarks, coach Ataman stated: “Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv is a team with great offensive capacity, as was also evident in their most recent game they won in Tel Aviv against Zalgiris Kaunas. They are a team that averages 94 points in the games they win. They also scored 93 points last night in Piraeus, so the key to the game will be defense and controlling the tempo on offense with fewer turnovers.”

From his side, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis noted: “In EuroLeague games, you never know who will step up; every game can have a different protagonist. Yesterday it was Vasilis (Toliopoulos) and the Greek players. That game gave us the opportunity to open up the rotation more and have more Greek players on the floor.

We have been playing together for several years. We proved that we can all play together. In every game there are different protagonists—yesterday it was us Greeks. A win always matters, and that is what we want to do again tomorrow. Lately, to be honest, we haven’t been very good; we suffered some bad losses in 2026, starting with the game against Olympiacos. Yesterday we got a very big psychological boost. It was a win we really needed, mainly on a mental level. We want to build on yesterday’s performance and start another streak.

For me and the coach, this is our third year working together; he knows what I can give to the team. I do what I know how to do well. One game you may play, another you may not—that’s basketball and that’s sports.

I believe turning the page happened yesterday. We are going to Tel Aviv with a different mentality; it has one of the hottest arenas of the last 15 years. We will go there to win the game. The ‘key’ is always defense—we may not have shown it in recent games. If we allow them to run, it will be a very difficult night. It’s an away game, and we have to stop them.”