By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Athens coach Ergin Ataman praised the atmosphere that fans of the team created in the 96 – 84 win over Partizan Belgrade, calling it superior to the one that the Serbian side has in its home court.
“The fans were amazing tonight. We won on the court and I believe our fans won in the atmosphere [part] against Partizan fans,” Ataman said with a smile in the post-game presser.
Panathinaikos was up even by 23 points down the stretch, winning comfortably despite being without injured star guards Kostas Sloukas and Lorenzo Brown, along with big man Kostas Antetokounmpo.
This was one of the reasons Ataman called the result as “maybe the most important win of the season.”
“We played against a very good team, they have great perimeter players. But throughout all the game we played perfect defense,” Ataman also mentioned. “We didn’t let them find easy possessions. Even when they scored, they did it in very difficult possessions. In offense we moved the ball very well and very smart.”
Ataman saw Jerian Grant stepping up big time with 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and just one turnovers in 37:23.
“Jerian Grant did a great job. He was the main point guard and managed the game very well,” Ataman mentioned before commending the rest of his players. “Cedi Osman, Omer Yurtseven, Juancho Hernangomez. They all gave big contribution in this victory. We showed our winning character and the champions’ character one more time.”
Osman scored 18 points, Yurtseven posted 17 points and eight rebounds while Hernangomez had 15 points and eight rebounds.
In the meantime, Kendrick Nunn continued his hot streak with 25 points, along with four assists. When asked about his performances in these last couple of games, Ataman just knocked on wood.
“I hope that he’ll be healthy until the end of the season. That’s all,” Ataman commented.