By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The back-to-back champions are out of the playoffs, their EuroLeague season is over and Ergin Ataman almost announced his exit from the team.
As he said in the press conference after the win over Monaco: “Of course, it was very difficult to play this game without any goals in front of us. For the first time after two EuroLeague titles in a row, we entered the court without a goal in front of us. Still, we played very good basketball today, we showed how effective we can be without injured players. We were very effective offensively and defensively, so we won the game. Of course, I’m not happy that we won the game because it’s the end of the season for us in the EuroLeague. After making history in European basketball for four years, we failed this season, as the head coach of the team, I am responsible for this failure”.
A little bit later, Ataman practically admitted that he is in Efes’ exit door and probably will continue his career elsewhere.
As he stated: “We are going through a sensitive period, and I can make sensitive statements during this period. We will make the decision on whether to continue with Anadolu Efes together with our president at the end of the season. We talked with our president Tuncay Özilhan this week, we haven’t come to a clear decision yet. Honestly, we’re pretty worn out this season. This is basketball, what is done in this sport has made history, but when we look today, we failed this season. Therefore, at the end of the season, a change may be required for everyone. This is decided together. I did not only work as a head coach at Anadolu Efes, I spent 20 years in this club. We are like a family, Anadolu Efes will always be my family even if I leave. I left in the past, and then I came back. As I said, there is no clear decision yet, but there seems to be a need for change”.
“There are some offers from EuroLeague teams”
Without naming Panathinaikos, Ataman explained that he is not going to coach only the Turkish national team next season: “I don’t think that I will only take part in the Turkish National Team. After winning the EuroLeague two times in a row, there are some offers from EuroLeague teams for me. Now we will concentrate on the league and try to become the champion there. As a Turkish team, we have done our part in the EuroLeague for the last four years and made Turkish sports fans proud. We failed this year, we apologize. Another Turkish team Fenerbahce continues on its way, I hope Fenerbahce will do what we did in the last two seasons and become champions”.
Speaking about what he achieved with Efes, Ataman added: “When I took office in the 2017-18 season, this team was the last in the EuroLeague, and a maximum of 2500-3000 people came to the matches. For five years, we played almost all the matches at Sinan Erdem in a sold-out crowd. We became the most watched and appreciated team in Europe. We became the pride of not only Istanbul but also Anatolia in Turkey. As I said, we’ll see what happens. We’ve been unsuccessful this season, but there will be many people who appreciate what we’ve done in sports history. I would like to thank all of the fans for cheering me on at the beginning and end of the match. I hope that every sportsperson will be given such a favor. Still, it seems like a journey at the end of the road”.