By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Can Real Madrid seal its place as the top dog in group A with a big win in Athens? It’s not impossible, even if Panathinaikos wants to rebound after being defeated at home by Cantu. That’s why Marcus Slaughter expects a big fight: “It will be a tough game like it was also the first time. It will be more difficult now because we play in Athens and OAKA it’s a difficult place to play. They have some new players here (ed.note: Lasme) and they have a really good team, so it will be difficult to win here”.
Slaughter knows that the night could be long, specially if Sofoklis Shortsanitis plays up to his potential: “They have baby Shaq and he is a really big guy. It’s tough down there. Last time we played him, I got hit really big, I got bruises, but it’s a battle and you have to win the game”.
And right now, Real Madrid seems to be in a really good place and its center confirms it :“We are in a good shape, specially at the standings. But we want to go a lot further, we still have to grow more as a team. Right now everyone feels good, confident that we can win every game that we play. So we go into games thinking win, win, win”.