Ergin Ataman and Mathias Lessort spoke to the media on behalf of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR, ahead of tomorrow’s matchup with Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (20/3, 21:15).

In his statement, the coach pointed out: “Every game in front of us is like a final; we must all be ready to fight, players and staff, as well as the fans, from the first to the last minute. I remember the game with Red Star in Belgrade; they beat us with great aggressiveness. I watched the game again and 20,000 people were chanting ‘Olympiacos’ against us. We must be aggressive from the beginning to the end. Back then they did everything; now it’s our turn to show at our home what we can do.

It is the same wherever we play. There is always pressure; our position is not good, but we have time and quality to change it. Our fans will also give us strength and support, but the point is for the players to get the win. They are ready for all the finals ahead of us. Our team plays better under pressure. We lost some games against teams that are lower in the standings. We must be tough and determined. The team is complete to take the win and move up in the standings. My strategy is to play with 9–10 players. For me the most important thing is to win, and whoever is more ready and focused will play.”

From his side, Mathias Lessort noted: “I wanted to return at 100% and in my best form. I’m working for that. It was the first time I got injured in my entire career. It’s the first time I was out of basketball even for one month. So I don’t know how my body reacts or how long it will take. I’m working as hard as I can. The right moment for me would have been to return two months earlier. I want to help the team win at the crucial moment. We are in the race to claim what we want. We are not in the position we want, but we are still alive. As long as we are alive, we must believe and fight for what we want to achieve.

The biggest fear is ourselves. It is the only enemy that can stop us. We have been inconsistent this year; we have many ups and many downs. We must be consistent, fight and stay focused for 40 minutes and be the best version of ourselves. If we do that, no team in Europe will be able to stop us.

I don’t care about the other teams. There are many things I need to think about for our team. I don’t know about the Playoffs; I don’t care about the other teams, to be honest. Red Star have a really good team; they have been together for a long time and they have experience. I have played against them many times because I was in Serbia, and many times it wasn’t their best players who made the difference. We must pay attention to all 12 of their players and not underestimate anyone.”