By Eurohoops team/info@eurohoops.net
Before the game against Virtus Bologna, Panathinaikos Athens coach Ergin Ataman said that the party is over and now the real EuroLeague begins.
24 hours later, and after Panathinaikos had a stunning offensive performance to crush Virtus, Ataman was asked if maybe the party for his team was now starting.
“The real party will be only when we win the title in Abu Dhabi,” Ataman said in the post-game presser. “We enjoy it after we play like this but that’s only for 15-20 minutes. We can’t make a party when we win one, two or three games in the EuroLeague. Our goal is to win the title.”
Ataman saw usual suspect Kendrick Nunn scoring 27 points and also center Omer Yurtseven registering a career-high 27 points (on 13 out of 16 shots) of his own along with seven rebounds.
“He [Yurtseven] is a player who likes more minutes,” Ataman said on Yurtseven playing a season-high 27:56 in the absence of injured Mathias Lessort.
“Now he took the role of the main center on the team. But last week vs. Bayern Munich he was also the main center but didn’t play well, it was Wenyen Gabriel who played better. This changes. Yurtseven has the potential and tonight he was very focused. He’s a very emotional guy, he started the game well and continued playing very well.”