Valencia tied the series at 2-2 with Panathinaikos, defeating the "Greens" 86-89.
Qualification for the Final Four in Athens will be decided in Game 5 on Wednesday, May 13th, and the coach of the Spaniards, Pedro Martinez, stated in his initial remarks at the press conference:
"It was a tremendous game with opportunities for both teams to win. Today we are happier. Panathinaikos played good basketball. We had many problems getting into our rhythm in the second half. We played tremendously in the first 16 minutes. In the second half, the players of both teams showed character. I'm not happy that we conceded 30 points in the fourth quarter. We were a bit tired, some tremendous offenses from Panathinaikos, difficult to defend."
Regarding whether Montero made Valencia's life more difficult with his statements before the series: "A journalist asked Montero if we could win three more games against Panathinaikos and he replied that we must be ready to beat them 3, 4, 5, 6 times, but it was never a lack of respect. I heard the interview and Montero never wanted to show a lack of respect to Panathinaikos and its players. He wants to be a competitor, he is a winner. And he said that we must be ready to beat everyone. We want to be competitive. It's not a lack of respect. He's 22 but he's tremendous. He has a tremendous mentality. It wasn't a lack of respect for anyone."
Regarding the reaction after the third period and if it builds character in young players: "I think character comes from themselves. They don't need the world. I have a fantastic team with a tremendous mentality. Today it's easy to say, but after the two defeats against Panathinaikos I told them I was proud of their mentality. I believe we played very well in Valencia but Panathinaikos played much better in the last minutes of the games and in overtime. The mentality of my players is tremendous. And I don't want to say more because we won. They have the same mentality whether we win or lose."
Regarding what will be the key for Game 5: "I don't know. We won away at OAKA and Panathinaikos can beat us at Roig Arena, they did it twice. At this point in the competition it doesn't matter if you play at home or away. Of course, we prefer at home, that's why we finished second in the regular season, but both teams have a chance to win."
And he concluded by saying: "Congratulations to Panathinaikos for the tremendous atmosphere, how they helped the players with the incredible atmosphere. Nothing to say about the behavior. And I hope the same happens in Valencia. In the bad moments Panathinaikos had in the first half, they helped the team, the players to come back with a tremendous mentality. It's a privilege for us to play in this atmosphere. I hope it's the same with the Valencia fans."