Valencia showed character in Game 3 against Panathinaikos at the Telekom Center and managed to reduce the series deficit (2-1) with an 87-91 victory.
However, the match was marked by tension between the coaches of the two teams, Pedro Martinez and Ergin Ataman, with the former commenting on the incident during the game.
In detail:
"A bittersweet feeling. The sweet part is the team's victory and the bitter part is the ejection. We were a bit disappointed because in both games in Valencia, coach Ataman, who is a master at controlling the situation, when we had control and were playing well with a small lead, he caused a technical foul in both games and the officiating changed. I just wanted to make the referees understand that this could not be allowed and that they had to realize that the officiating had to be fair."
Regarding the ejection: "He went crazy, they ejected both of us and then he went even crazier here, in the hallways. I understand that it was a... Solomonic decision; both of us had stepped out of our coaching areas. He had already received a technical foul, which he himself provoked, and I suppose they wanted both coaches to be ejected. I have nothing to say about the referees. What I didn't want was for them to influence the game again, as I believe they did with the technical fouls in games 1 and 2."