By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Two wins away from a berth in the Final Four of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. A similar mindset for Panathinaikos Aktor and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv after splitting wins in Athens last week. Traveling to Belgrade on Monday, Ergin Ataman talked about the best-of-five series.
“This is the Playoffs,” mentioned the Turkish head coach at the Eleftherios Venizelos Athens International Airport, “We need to win two games. Of course, it is tough for both teams. Maccabi is a good team. We saw this in the two previous games. We need to put hustle and a good effort.”
Aleksandar Nikolic Hall will host Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Thursday. Game 5, if necessary, will return the series to Athens and OAKA Altion on May 8.
“After we watched the first games, we analyzed our mistakes and paid more attention, especially in the offense,” added Ataman referring to Game 1 and Game 2 in Athens.
“Belgrade will be a different game,” noted Argentine guard Luca Vildoza coming off 7.0 points, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 rebounds per contest in the series, “At OAKA, we had the support of our fans and they were loud. It will not be the same there.”
In Spain for further medical tests following a recent calf injury, Juancho Hernangomez is expected to stay on the injury list. The 28-year-old Spanish forward also missed Game 2. In Game 1, he piled up three points, nine rebounds, and two assists over 20 minutes.