Ataman praises former assistants Mijatovic and Sekizkok, talks Maccabi series / News - Basketnews.com

Ergin Ataman of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens talked about the upcoming playoff matchup between his team and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv while also taking time to praise his former assistant coaches, Tomislav Mijatovic and Yakup Sekizkok.

Credit: IMAGO/Andreas Gora-Scanpix Credit IMAGO/Andreas Gora-Scanpix

After a great season with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, coach Ergin Ataman and his players are now gearing up for a playoff series against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv / Schedule

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv EA7 Emporio Armani Milan92-86 Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz113-85 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens Maccabi Playtika Tel AvivTue17:30

In remarks to a Turkish news channel, the experienced specialist weighed in on the upcoming series.

"It's a very tough matchup. They beat Baskonia by a huge margin in the Play-In. It will be a tough fight," Ataman said. "They are the only team we lost to in both games. They are a very good team, a dangerous team. They play their games in Belgrade and almost without spectators."

"This seems to be an advantage for us, but of course, we have broken the away record this season; we have 9 away wins. The environment without spectators might be against us. We have the toughest atmosphere in Europe after Partizan. We want to win the first two home games and make it 2-0. Our home games will be critical," the Turkish tactician concluded.

Although Ataman had a great season, his former team, Anadolu Efes Istanbul, fell short of clinching direct qualification for a playoff spot and were defeated by Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the Play-In Showdown, being directly eliminated.

Despite the underwhelming season, Ataman had praise for his former assistant in Efes, Tomislav Mijatovic, who took over Efes after Erdem Can was sacked this year.

"Tomislav did a great job taking charge during a difficult period [for Efes]. He took the team to Play-In in a season that was supposed to be over for Efes," Ataman stated.

"He beat an important team like Fenerbahce in a row. I think he did a very important job. But unfortunately, they were eliminated by Virtus; it was a big surprise for me," the Turkish coach admitted. "But this is a sport; sometimes it doesn't work out. I think Tomislav will be very successful, as he has the championship spirit."

Ataman also spoke highly of Galatasaray EKMAS Istanbul head coach Yakup Sekizkok, who started off his head coaching career this year and took over Galatasaray after Zvezdan Mitrovic was let go.

"Yakup Sekizkok took Galatasaray in a very difficult situation. I think he will make the [Turkish Basketball Super League] play-offs and do well next season because he is a coach who knows how to build a squad," Ataman concluded.

Before they all went their separate ways, Ataman and his assistant coaches Sekizkok, Mijatovic, and Cenk Yildirim won the EuroLeague twice in succession in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, alongside countless domestic titles from 2017 to 2023.

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