Josh Nebo reacts to painful loss, responds to report about Slovenia / News - Basketnews.com

Nebo said Panathinaikos capitalized on 50/50 situations and that decided the game. He refused to comment on reported deal with Slovenia and proclaimed that nobody is going to be sorry for Maccabi if Wade Baldwin doesn't play in Game 5 and they lose.

Credit: Irina R. Hipolito/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire - Scanpix Credit Irina R. Hipolito/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire - Scanpix

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv suffered a heartbreaking loss against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Game 4 of the EuroLeague playoffs. One of the best players in the series, Josh Nebo, provided his reaction to it.

Player of the Game EFF 32 Kostas Sloukas Points 20 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 8 Assists 6

Nebo's presence was once again felt both defensively and offensively. However, his 12-point performance was not enough to defeat the 2nd-seeded PAO.

"A tough game. A tough game for us tonight. It's tough to lose in front of our fans, it's tough to lose at home. Both teams played very hard. It's very hard for us emotionally right now to lose the game. We all expected to win, but we all just have to regroup," he told BasketNews.

"It's hard right now, but eventually, these emotions will pass in the next few days, and we'll focus back in on Game 5. The series isn't over," Nebo said. "The first team wins three games. Nobody's won three games. Nothing is lost right now. Obviously, it will be really hard to win in OAKA but anything's possible."

Panathinaikos had a tremendous amount of pressure on their backs on Thursday. Despite trailing multiple times, even by seven points in the fourth quarter, they managed to come back and pretty comfortably win the contest.

"They were desperate. If they had lost today, their season would had been over," Nebo said. "So yeah, it was a tough game."

"I wouldn't say they were a better team. We were up seven with I'm not sure how many minutes to go. I feel like there were a lot of 50/50 balls that they were able to get. They capitalized every time on every loose ball. They made tough shots down the stretch. We missed a few shots, and that was the difference," the center said. "In basketball, there's a very thin line between winning and losing. We just lost tonight."

Josh Nebo

MIN:23.55PTS:11.08 (68.35%)REB:7.05As:0.58ST:0.55BL:0.87TO:0.89GM:38ProfileEuroLeague2023/2024

The day of the game, a report came out about a deal between Nebo and the Slovenian national team, confirming an earlier BasketNews report about the two sides working on a deal.

The player wasn't willing to comment on it.

"I'm not going to talk about it right now. We just lost the game. I'm focused on this series and trying to get the best here. Anything outside the series, let's not talk about it right now," he said.

After missing Games 2 and 3 with a hamstring injury, Wade Baldwin IV returned to the basketball court in Game 4, but ultimately played just over seven minutes, scoring three points on two shots.

Baldwin was ruled out during halftime, and it's currently unclear whether he's going to compete in Athens next week.

"We'll find out in the next few days if he's able to play or not. I hope he plays but if he doesn't, we have to figure out a way to win without him," Nebo said.

"It's a big difference," the center said about the difference of playing with Baldwin and without him. "Wade is one of the best players in the EuroLeague, so not having him is a big loss, and having him is a big gain. Regardless if he's here or not, we believe in the team that we have. Nobody's gonna feel sorry for us. We'll have to figure it out if he doesn't play."

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