Ergin Ataman and Richaun Holmes spoke ahead of the home clash against Olympiacos for Round 19 of the EuroLeague regular season (02/01, 21:15).

In his remarks, the head coach stated: “Happy New Year to everyone, to all the people who follow us, to the entire EuroLeague and its supporters. The team is doing well. We will be ready for this game; we are in very good shape. We have great respect for Olympiacos, who for me are one of the top teams in the EuroLeague.

The truth is that I told my players that over these two years we won the EuroLeague, we won the title, we won the league and the cup, but we never beat Olympiacos in the EuroLeague. That is the reality. We will try to play good basketball. It will certainly be a tough game.

We want to continue being among the top four teams in the standings. We had some minor injuries; last week many players were ill, as I was as well—I stayed at home for three days. Now everyone is healthy and ready for this game.

Jerian Grant has a minor issue, so we protected him in today’s practice. I think he will train normally tomorrow morning and will be on the court with us. Sloukas is fine. He didn’t play in Kaunas and Maroussi, but he completed the last two or three practices and tomorrow he will be on the court. Samodurov injured a finger. He went to the hospital for an MRI. I hope it’s nothing serious. It was a surprise for us, because he trained but felt pain in his little finger. We’ll see the results.

The EuroLeague always has big games. Every week there are one or two very big matchups. Of course, this is the classic Greek derby, between two teams that have met together at the Final Four over the last two years. The key will be to have a good presence on the court. Both teams can play offense and defense at a high level.

Yurtseven will continue with us. He was very good in the last two or three games, not only in Kaunas but also against Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv and Maroussi CHERRY. In the league he is among our best players. He will continue with us.

Faried won the MVP award in the EuroLeague in the first month. Afterwards he played below his capabilities, but we like him as a person—he’s always very positive and he likes the team. We will keep him until the end of the season.

We know this game is very important for our fans, just as it is for theirs. But it’s one game. We earned three very important wins against Fenerbahce, Hapoel, and Zalgiris. Now Olympiacos come with one of the best rosters in the EuroLeague”.

Holmes: “I’m looking forward to the atmosphere”

From the players’ side, ahead of the derby againts Olympiacos, Richaun Holmes noted: “The preparation is the same—we watch video and get ready for tomorrow. I’m a creature of habit; I like consistency in my work and routine to stay focused. I feel good, I’m finding chemistry with my teammates again, and I’m looking forward to stepping on the court.

It’s going to be fun—I’m excited about the atmosphere. The fans have been great all season, so I can’t wait to be back in front of them. Faried is my guy; I’m happy to see him out there and I try to learn as much as I can from him. I’m fully ready—I’ve always liked competition. I play basketball, I’m doing what I dreamed of, and I look forward to every challenge”.