Ergin Ataman and Dinos Mitoglou spoke on behalf of Panathinaikos BC AKTOR ahead of tomorrow’s EuroLeague matchup against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (October 15, 21:15), as part of Round 4 of the regular season.

Regarding Panathinaikos BC AKTOR’s preparation, Ergin Ataman stated: “We don’t have any difficulties. The same conditions apply to all EuroLeague teams. We have to approach every game with seriousness. We’re starting this double-game week with a home matchup, and we must fight to get the win.”

On Kendrick Nunn’s condition, the coach commented: “Yes, he’s feeling good today. He participated in practice, and we hope he won’t experience knee pain tomorrow morning. If everything goes well, he’ll be on the roster.”

Speaking about the result of the game against Olympiacos, Ataman emphasized: “I don’t think it was a negative result since we lost by four points on the final shot. There will be a second round at the Telekom Center Athens, so we have no problem.”

Finally, regarding the rotation he plans to use against the French team, the Panathinaikos BC AKTOR head coach noted: “We need wins. Rotation is the second part of our job. For me, rotation isn’t important in just one game — it matters over the course of the season. Kendrick Nunn had a problem during Sunday’s derby, and T.J. Shorts took on more responsibility. We have a long season ahead with many games. I don’t plan to use 12 players in every match. The most important thing is to win. Whoever makes the best use of his minutes on the court will stay in the game.”

Mitoglou: “We really want the win and must be ready”

From the players’ side, Dinos Mitoglou spoke about the upcoming matchup against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and the demanding schedule: “The schedule is tough, but we’re professional athletes, and we have to follow it. We need to adjust both how we train and how we rest — that’s our job. It’s another home game during a EuroLeague double-game week. We really want the win and must be ready. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne is a good, athletic, and dangerous team, I would say. So, we don’t have much room for mistakes — together with our fans, we have to go out and win.

The more games we play, the more intense everything becomes — you know what I mean. Of course, there’s physical strain, and I understand some coaches who disagree with the schedule because injuries and difficult situations arise, even in how they organize their work. I believe we all have to adapt to this situation — there’s no right or wrong.”

Regarding his current form, the Panathinaikos BC AKTOR forward commented: “I think I had good rhythm over the summer. I played a lot of friendly games, we also competed with the National Team, and that helped me maintain a steady pace, which I’m trying to keep.”

Finally, speaking about the result against Olympiacos in the Stoiximan GBL, Dinos Mitoglou noted: “These games always carry great weight, but there’s no other way — two or three days later, we have another EuroLeague game, and after that, a difficult trip to Istanbul. We know how important the derby is — we can’t just move past it. We’ve already analyzed the game and our mistakes and will continue to do so. We’ll be ready for the next time we face them. For now, our focus is entirely on tomorrow’s game.”