By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos missed the chance against Barcelona to climb to the second place of the group and A. J. Slaughter feels sorry for the fans and predicts that the Greens will qualify to the Final Four if they ‘d have the home advantage.
A.J. Slaughter is rookie in the Euroleague but recognizes the value of having the home advantage in the playoffs. “We get one game at a time and don’t think so far. We are ready for the next match up against Zalgiris and we want first of all to qualify to the playoffs”.
Was the game against Barcelona a big lost chance for Panathinaikos? “In the second quarter we lost our way for six minutes. We didn’t follow our game plan and that was the reason we had to fight back in the second half. Barcelona punished us. Our big guys played excellent defense in the post in the start of the game. We did our best to limit them from game touches and limit the easy baskets but we weren’t focus constantly”.
OAKA was full and Panathinaikos’ players were pushed by the fans during all the game. It wasn’t the first time that Slaughter faced that but he was again amazed by that: “The atmosphere was great and we feel sorry for them” said the 28-year old guard who is absolute sure when we asked him about Panathinaikos’ chances to qualify to the Final Four having the home advantage. “We would be the favorite most definitely. If we will have the home advantage, I believe we can make it to the Final Four”.