By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens’ home winning streak is over! CSKA Moscow managed to defeat Panathinaikos in Athens, and after the game coaches, Dimitris Itoudis and Xavi Pascual shared their thoughts on the game.
On if the referees made a mistake with Antonov: “I cannot say that they made a mistake. I just say that we did not have good luck. It was in a moment that the five-minute break happened where everything was going excellent. I cannot say that the refs did something wrong. I’m not complaining about the refs. We just did not have good luck this week.”
Pascual’s comments on the game: “Thanks to our fans for the incredible atmosphere. Congratulations to CSKA for the win. We lost the game in the second quarter, we could not score in many easy situations, we missed four shots under the basket, four three-pointers alone, and this is why in the first twenty minutes we did not have an advantage. When we had an incredible amp there, when we are playing well, had momentum, the game stopped for 5-6 minutes with the unsportsmanlike foul and the game turned around as CSKA scored after the mini-break. The shots by De Colo and Rodriguez decided the game (this is why they might be the best players in Europe), but we have to continue.”
On the other hand coach Itoudis, commented on what this win means for his team. “Our win tonight is really important for our character and psychology, but it’s just a win. I believe that this win, especially a win against tough opponents, will make our team tougher, stronger, and we show ourselves that we can win. We used a different style of play tonight, we had our ups and downs, there could have been a better ending when we are up seven points, but we don’t have to forget that the teams and players are tired.”
Coach Itoudis’ initial comments: “Congratulations to my team. We won against a great opponent. An opponent that was undefeated at home. I’d like to say thanks to PAO’s fans for their warm welcome, from the bottom of my heart. It was an interesting game, with different momentums in the game. We believed in our opportunities when we were down by ten points and this is what gave us the win. We managed to keep ‘Pana’ below 70 points on both games we played against them this season. This is just a win, in a marathon, but we had an intention to succeed. We went out of our comfort zone, defended well, and we are now preparing for the next game. Panathinaikos has a great team and good luck to them as well.”