By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Aktor head coach Ergin Ataman reiterated his intentions about focusing on available players and went on to preview an increased role for Konstantinos Mitoglou.
“We will not make any additions. Our roster is enough,” he mentioned rejecting rumors about a new player boosting his squad, heading to the bottom end of the 2024-25 campaigns in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and domestic competitions in Greece.
“I will give more responsibilities on the center position to Dinos Mitoglou, who is a much better player than the players who are on the market now,” he explained referring to the 28-year-old Greek big, “We will continue like this.”
Over 21 appearances in the ongoing continental campaign, including seven starts, Mitoglou tallied 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.4 steals, 0.3 assists, and 0.1 blocks per contest, averaging just under 14 minutes per game.
On a related note, French star Mathias Lessort had surgery on his left leg in December and fellow big Omer Yurtseven was recently ruled out for at least one month, further limiting options in the paint. Lithuanian winger Marius Grigonis recovering from back surgery in December, is also on the injury list.
Heading to Round 24 of the EuroLeague Regular Season, the defending champions will take on EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Unipol Forum on Thursday evening. Carrying a 14-9 record, they are tied with AS Monaco in third place, trailing archrival and leader Olympiacos by two games with 11 fixtures left in the 34-game double-legged round-robin schedule.