By Semih Tuna / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos‘ victory over Fenerbahce in the latest thrilling EuroLeague appointment meant double for Omer Yurtseven, who started his professional career with the yellow-and-blue jersey back in 2014.
Returning to the Ulker Sports Arena, he dropped 12 points (8/10 at the line) and 6 rebounds off the bench for Ergin Ataman’s team to heavily contribute to the reigning EuroLeague champions in surviving Sarunas Jasikevicius’ side fighting back in the late minutes of the clash.
Following the win, he expressed his emotions to Eurohoops Turkiye’s Semih Tuna. “I was very excited, there were mixed feelings in general. After all, I played in this hall for three years. I played a lot here. Since the coach at that time was extremely disciplined, we worked a lot under him”, he said.
“That’s why it was a very different and nostalgic feeling. I could show the best respect for this place by playing the best game I could. I did my best for that”, Omer Yurtseven commented about returning to Istanbul to face the yellow-and-blue Turkish powerhouse, beloved in his past.
Finding the “good connection” with Lorenzo Brown
Panathinaikos can count on one of the best – if not the best – center rotations in the whole EuroLeague, starting games with the dominant Mathias Lessort and putting in Omer Yurtseven once the game starts. “I think it is very important that we are both good players. When I enter the game and play well, I can see the ambition in his eyes. He also wants to play better”, he commented about it.
“The fact that we are both good fuels the competition. These things start in training anyway, everything starts to flare up there. It comes out later in the match. We both think that we are playing against the best big man in Europe. This makes our job easier when we go into the match”, he added about Lessort.
He then touched on his adjustments back to the European game. “There are many factors. There are many different and complicated things such as the difference in the system, the difference in the style of play, new teammates, and being able to adapt to teammates”, Yurtseven shared.
“As you play, you can reach a much higher level. After a while, you don’t need to talk, you can communicate with a few eye movements and play without even saying a set. We will sort out small things like this in time. I think we established a very good connection with Lorenzo [Brown] today. It is very important for these to develop organically during the match”, he also said about the backup point guard.