Panathinaikos head coach, Argyris Pedoulakis, stressed at the Press Conference after the end of the clash with Real Madrid:
“It was a game characterized on our side by heaps of energy on the floor, driven to its greatest extent from our fans who aided us despite the rough times we are living through, because our team was with its back up against the wall. The guys knew that the game was tough and that they had their backs up against the wall but they reacted appropriately. We got lots of help in the game from defense. We got to easy baskets through it. We had few turnovers and even though we played versus one of the top teams as far as rebounds are concerned we nailed it in that very department. That is exactly why we state that sometimes it is the mood able to provide more than the ability. What we were lacking on yet another occasion was three point range and it is proof that pressure still exists”.
Pedoulakis after a relevant question pose to him, referred once more essentially to where the team is right now and how it has come to reach this point: “We hided nothing in the beginning. We stated it at the beginning of the season, that we are a new team. You can work through pressure. Even today we missed unguarded shots. Pressure of the past exists. Today Tsartsaris was sidelined, Sofo played having had an injection, but as I stated earlier we had energy and a good mood. Against Khimki we were good for 25 minutes, we were in control of the game, but in 2-3 minutes, as we have said before, at the Euroleague level and in the group we are in, you can be destroyed. It takes bench depth and experience. Some guys need to get some images. Bramos for instance performed exquisitely today through his backcourt game. Something is being built. The past weighs upon the team; administration is doing all it can and is putting in the effort in this new situation which exists. Especially in Panathinaikos were something notorious existed and now it is on a new page trying to rebuild something from scratch. Wemust have patience”.
When asked about the up to date results and this evening’s performance, Pedoulakis stated: “I would like to thank the fans yet again, because they helped us out and stood by us despite the negative results. When I come to think of it though, only negative result was the one versus Ikaros. Khimki is a team that works a lot, has been forming gradually the last 2,5 years. Teams with such budgets and they get annihilated. That’s the way things are in Euroleague though. You must stay focused, have experience and overcome pressure. We must hold fast. The fans were very positive; we got positive energy off the fans’ stands”.
About Panathinaikos confining Real Madrid under 70 points he stated: “We had said prior to the game that it would be ideal for us to keep Real under 70 points, when it enjoys almost an 85 point average; in order for us to rise. Our players do not have Diamantidis’ experience, or Tsartsaris’.Diamantidis, especially during the fourth quarter, kept the team calm, spoke… He has tones and tones and tones of experience. Kitchen for instance is competing in Europe essentially for the first time, plays at a Euroleague and a Panathinaikos level for the first time in his career”.
About if what he had stated pre-season, about Panathinaikos having to learn to play without Diamantidis and if it still applies, he underlined: “It is obligatory for it to learn, because Diamantidis too will have his ups and downs in his performance through the season. We try as much as possible in the Greek League to rest him. The fact that he played little in the previous game aided him in having more energy this evening. We do not wish to hide behind our finger. The experience of the past does not exist. I think that today we had extremely good periods, but to us the most important thing was defense. Our wing men today did a great job also, using up lots of energy marking players such as Fernandez or Carroll who are extremely hard to stop”.
Pedoulakis was questioned about if he believes that his players played for him tonight: “No… the boys didn’t play for me. Theyare pros. We have a good relationship, a good atmosphere exists. But all the small talk after all these years leaves me uninfluenced. You do your job, the guys do theirs; they had input an effort in the other games too. Today we were more focused and Real might be a suiting team for us; the way it competes might very well suit us. We had done well in the first game too, but we had committed 23 turnovers. We should have won that game. If we had slightly greater self-confidence there I believe that we would have won. But with 23 turnovers and 15 offensive rebounds for the opponent team you can’t expect to achieve much. And this evening key players had very low three point stats while Suarez went for 4-for-4; a player who had 0-for-6. We set off game, players the likes of Fernandez, Llull, Carroll… Our players did an exceptional job on this. On the down side of this though, we were very bad at three-point shooting, we had pour range. Overall however, this victory certainly boosts most of the guys’confidence and that is important for the ensuing season”.
When asked if he had any comments for all that has been written or said about rumors concerning him personally he answered: “I do not read… The foreign coaches who have been occupied in Greece, I believe have a great advantage in this area. My colleagues inform me of whatever is of any essence. It is an advantage not to be influenced as a coach”.
As far as signing Jason Kapono he stated: “I am here to speak of the effort of the guys who competed today. Ithink that it would be impolite for them, becausethey deserve respect”.
Head coach of Real Madrid Pablo Laso stated: “Congratulations to Panathinaikos for winning. It performed a great game. We failed to start off well, proof of which is score in the first few minutes. We were ahead indeed, but we were not performing in the right manner. It was only a matter of time for things to shift in the game seeing that Panathinaikos was performing behind passion and had a greater heart during the clash. And I believe that apart from basketball the first thing you must throw into the game is passion. It was the worst game of the season and it is something we must learn for the future; as I said before congratulations to Panathinaikos. We knew that it would be a tough group with many great teams. We have four more games in order to seal our qualification to the next round”.
