Panathinaikos is getting ready to host Valencia (06/05, 21:15) at Telekom Center for Game 3 of their EuroLeague Playoffs series, aiming for qualification to the Final Four in Athens.
Ergin Ataman, in his statements ahead of the game, also commented on the punishment that the top European club competition imposed on Dimitris Giannakopoulos after the second game in Valencia.
Here's what Ergin Ataman said in detail:
On Dimitris Giannakopoulos: "I've explained my view on social media as well. I don't think our president provoked anyone on the court.
He was sitting next to the court, very close to the scorers' table, and went 2-3 meters closer and just said "give the foul, give the foul". The referees recorded it in the official EuroLeague report.
But for the first time in my career, I saw that, after this, a team brought the police into the locker room to insult our president, to create such tension.
Come on now, we are high-level professionals. This can happen in many games, many presidents or general managers complain.
Dimitris Giannakopoulos perhaps, okay, in the past has done something wrong. But in this game, I don't believe it.
He has patience and I can tell all of Europe: don't exhaust the patience of this man who invests so much in basketball. Not only in the team, but also in the arena, for the sport in Greece and in Europe.
Leave him alone, give him courage. Maybe in the future something will change, but come on now.
In one of the best arenas built in 2 years, he offered for the EuroLeague Final Four to be held there, and you forbid him from coming to watch it in his own arena?
Okay, the EuroLeague might say that the president shouldn't sit courtside, but in the VIPs, near the EuroLeague CEO or in their box.
But what kind of punishment is this, not being able to watch the Final Four in his own arena?
I don't know if the Final Four will be held there or not. But I'm sure that Dimitris Giannakopoulos deserves to watch the Final Four live.
And I hope that the EuroLeague can change this decision, especially the new EuroLeague CEO, Charles Matéo.
He needs to get involved in such situations, to give courage, to give a chance to people who support European basketball, a family that has supported it for 50 years. I am sure he will be present at the Final Four. I hope I will also be officially present at the Final Four."
"With all due respect to the Valencia team, who also play their basketball. It will be a very difficult game. We will try to win tomorrow to close the series."
About the previous 2 games: "In reality, we didn't prepare something like that to play with different styles. Sometimes all games are different. In the first game, both teams made many offensive mistakes. They missed many shots. And Valencia missed many shots, and we missed many.
In the second game, the teams were much better offensively. Valencia scored, and we also made very difficult shots. And the game had more points.
But for tomorrow, I don't know what kind of game it will be. It's not strategic. I don't think their coach prepared it that way either.
Sometimes some things just happen on the court. It's not that coaches prepare a first game with a low score and a second game with a high score. Tomorrow we will see what happens.
About what he expects from the fans: "Our fans, in all seasons and in all important games, in the big matches, have been the sixth player on the court. I believe that tomorrow they will also be the sixth player. We need a lot of aggression. It's a playoff game. But let's be fair, let's forget everything that happened in Valencia. We will play a playoff game. We are ready to play aggressive basketball on the court. And our fans will support us in the right way, to show all of Europe what Panathinaikos fans are like."