Ergin Ataman and Kenneth Faried spoke ahead of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR’s home game against Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv for Round 17 of the EuroLeague regular season (18/12, 21:15).

The head coach of the Greens initially referred to the game against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul: “We didn’t give up. We started the game very well and played very good basketball in the first quarter, but at the beginning of the fourth period we made several mistakes, missed shots and lost control of the game. We kept fighting and, in the middle of the last quarter, we got back into the game and won. Offensively it was a good game for us, but defensively we played a perfect game for 22 minutes.”

Regarding the condition of Kostas Sloukas, he said: “He is fine. It wasn’t anything serious. He was worried about something more severe, but after the examinations we saw that everything is OK and tomorrow he will be on the court.”

Speaking about Panathinaikos BC AKTOR’s opponent, he added: “So far they are the best team and they are in first place. It will be a difficult game, with experienced players and a very good coach. They score a lot in the paint with Motley and Oturu. The big shots will be the key. We have to start from the first minute — everyone, players, coaches and fans — being aggressive, so they can feel they are playing at the Telekom Center Athens, a very tough arena. Everyone likes playing in this arena and in this atmosphere. Everyone must be aggressive and we must play the right basketball.”

Closing, when asked about Richaun Holmes, Ataman noted: “We see that he is healthy now. He hasn’t played for six or seven weeks, so tomorrow we’ll see if he will be on the roster and how many minutes he can play. He needs more games. It’s a difficult match and we will think about how to use him tomorrow.”

From his side, Kenneth Faried spoke about last night’s game in Istanbul: “The key was defense. We started well in the first half, but in the third quarter they hit us hard. Still, we never looked back. We knew there was plenty of time left in the game. We don’t go out there to lose, we go out there to win. We are focused on that, on playing together and on getting better.”

Regarding the matchup against Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv, he commented: “We approach it like every game. We never want to lose — the goal is always to win. We know they are first in the standings and they are a very good team, but we will play our game and go for the back-to-back. This double week has been tough for Panathinaikos BC AKTOR, with only one day in between games, including travel and practice — basically no rest.”

On the demanding EuroLeague schedule, he concluded: “I’m used to back-to-back games. For me it’s harder when you play on consecutive days, like two games in two days — that’s how it was in the NBA. Preparation makes it easier for me. I’m used to it and now there’s another one coming. I like it because there is less practice and more games.”