Priftis reflecting on PAO's EuroLeague season: 'There were structural limitations' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

Last week's Greek derby in the EuroLeague context had left Panathinaikos OPAP Athens badly bruised and wounded. The Greens suffered a 73-101 blowout at the hands of their main rival Olympiacos Piraeus, and the atmosphere in their camp was heating up.

Player of the Game EFF 29 Howard Sant-Roos Points 15 Accuracy 4-6 Rebounds 9 Assists 1

The home win over FC Bayern Munich allowed the six-time EuroLeague champs to catch a break and buy themselves some time ahead of the future when coach Dimitris Priftis hopes to have all of his players back and healthy.

Against the Bavarian side, captain Ioannis Papapetrou and guards Stefan Jovic and Lefteris Bochoridis were sidelined, leaving the squad with only ten available players.

In the post-game press conference, Priftis emphasized that constant absences have taken a toll on the team's level in a year when things could have been done differently.

"I'm happy because we persevered and deserved the win today. The guys deserved the win because we're dealing with many problems, and it's good that we won today. We needed it," the Greek coach stated at the beginning.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

In contrast to what was happening last season, Howard Sant-Roos has been mostly used as a small forward throughout the current campaign. The Cuban had a great game on both ends against Bayern, scoring 15 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, and stealing the ball three times.

With Jovic and Bochoridis being unable to help, Priftis underlined that his team's starting lineup was the product of necessity.

"We had no other ball-handler," he explained.

"Today, we had a good spirit, even those who did not play well, like Nedovic and Papagiannis. Sant-Roos and White were pivotal. Mantzoukas played some minutes when the game was still on the line."

Priftis said PAO need to pay attention to their ups and downs during games. Against Bayern, the hosts wasted a 13-point lead (63-50), allowing the Germans to come very close (64-65). Nedovic somewhat restored the order, scoring nine points in the last six minutes, enough to seal a fully deserved win for the Greeks.

Panathinaikos Athens / Schedule

Olympiakos Piraeus Panathinaikos Athens101-73 Panathinaikos Athens FC Bayern Munich80-67 UNIKS Kazan Panathinaikos AthensThu16:00 Panathinaikos Athens Maccabi Tel Aviv03-2917:00

However, over the last weeks, long-time absentees and occasional mishaps have forced Priftis to use his assistant coaches, Kostas Charalambidis and Vassilis Simtsak, as players.

"Yesterday, Kostas joined our practice in order for us to have ten players. Sometimes, Simtsak comes in to make it eight. These are not excuses, but facts," he stressed.

"We must all come together because we have absences in structural positions, especially at point guard. We'll definitely be more ready if we practice all together for a month."

As another EuroLeague season is leading to an inevitable conclusion for Panathinaikos, with the Greens giving up on their playoff chances quite early, Priftis was asked whether the situation could have been any different.

"There are things that maybe I should have done differently and some things that I still can't touch," he admitted.

"There were structural limitations, not allowing me to do anything. I have many responsibilities, which I don't renounce. I can't hide. Things could have been different.

It's also about how easily you can move (on the market). We're not playing in the EuroCup. It's the EuroLeague - and if you're not ready, your opponents will expose your weaknesses," the 53-year-old tactician concluded.

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