Ataman questions EuroLeague, hopes not to be punished: 'I'm one of their sponsors' / News - Basketnews.com

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After suffering two losses in a row last week, Anadolu Efes Istanbul (13-10) defeated Zalgiris Kaunas (7-18) and are back to the victorious way once again. It's been a story of the season for EuroLeague champions so far.

Player of the Game EFF 21 Vasilije Micic Points 20 Accuracy 6-12 Rebounds 1 Assists 7

Anadolu Efes had the longest winning streak back in November, achieving five victories in a row. However, in 2022, the longest Efes' winning streak stops at three wins in a row.

Last season, Efes also had a sluggish first half of the season, but in January 2021, they caught a big wave of confidence, which took them all the way to winning the trophy. From January 2021 up until the end of the regular season, Efes won 14 games out of 18, including an 8-game winning streak.

So, what's not clicking this year?

"Last season, we had a big contribution from Sertac Sanli when Pleiss and Dunston were injured," Ataman said. "Unfortunately, this season, we didn't get the same contribution from our young player Petrusev.

"Especially in the center position, we didn't find our main guy. In some games, like tonight, Pleiss was great, in others – Bryant Dunston was better.

Also, Krunoslav Simon was also a very important player in our system for the last three years. But this season, he has many injury problems. We got a good defensive contribution from Anderson Elijah Bryant, but with Simon, everything was more comfortable for us.

We were playing with three guards, Simon is taller, he can defend, play pick & roll. We had a lot of ups and downs this season because of that," Ataman added.

Ataman also touched on the topic of EuroLeague standings format. Clubs with A license voted that the results against Russian teams should be voided, and such format was beneficial to Efes since the Turkish club rose from eighth to the fifth position.

Free throws this season

83%13,2Points made:13,2Accuracy:82,6%Place in standings:5Record max:28Record min:3Most made FTs:Vasilije MicicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"Before the standings situations, I want to say that all wars are troubling. Speaking for all Turkish people, I'd like to say it's unacceptable what's going on in Ukraine, especially for innocent children and people," Ataman said.

"Speaking of EuroLeague, I don't want to confuse (war, politics) because sport and art are different things," Ataman continued. "There are some economic or other sanctions, but sport is different."

"My colleagues who work in Russian teams or players who play in Russian clubs are innocent for the whole situation. All the effort they put in throughout the season is now lost. Of course, I believe that EuroLeague waits for 2-3 weeks for something to resolve, but as we can see, it won't be easy.

About the standings, I think it's (unfair) to ask for clubs to take voting. I think it's very funny. Every club voted for their own advantage. I believe that in this situation, EuroLeague should have taken more power and taken the decision, so nobody could say anything.

Because of that, we had a problem with Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce got a big disadvantage because their won three games against Russian clubs, and they asked us to vote for other standings format.

It was unfair to my players because the current standings gave us a bigger opportunity. We still have a chance to reach fourth place, but I don't think clubs should have voted," Ataman gave a detailed comment.

Asked to confirm whether EuroLeague should have decided by itself, Ataman said precisely that.

"Yes, this is my personal opinion. They should make their own decision where no one can say anything. There are two teams, like Monaco and Crvena Zvezda, which didn't vote, but CSKA, which won't play this season, had the opportunity to vote. Those two teams have more rights to vote than CSKA.

I hope that EuroLeague will make their own decision in the future, and clubs will need to accept it," Ataman explained.

"I hope that they won't fine me again because I'm talking about it. But okay, it's fine, I am one of the sponsors of the EuroLeague," Ataman concluded his press conference with a joke.

Speaking of tonight's victory, Ataman was very satisfied with his players' focus and determination.

"We were focused for this game, it was a very important game for us," said the Efes head coach. "We started the game well, we used our defensive strategy very well. We successfully stopped Ulanovas, especially in the low post."

"We took good possession for Bryant Dunston after pick and roll. In the third quarter, we improved our defense, found points in transition, and took a big advantage. In the fourth quarter, Zdovc changed line-up, which was difficult for us. But we controlled all game and took an important victory."

Ataman also revealed that after two losses against AS Monaco and Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, he had a team meeting with the players.

"We had a lot of meetings, we talked with players why it did happen. Maybe it was an upsetting situation after losing to Baskonia in the last quarter. We lost balance in Monaco, but we knew Zalgiris are a dangerous team.

Of course, it was important for us that Lauvergne didn't play tonight, but I think that players understand we are playing for (the spot in the) playoffs. We lost to Baskonia and Monaco, and we understand that playoffs spot is in danger," Ataman explained.

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