Ergin Ataman on cup defeat: 'No one will remember who won and who lost' / News - Basketnews.com

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach Ergin Ataman shared some remarks after the Greek Basketball Cup final, in which Panathinaikos lost to Olympiacos Piraeus.

Credit: BETAPHOTO/SIPA - Scanpix Credit BETAPHOTO/SIPA - Scanpix

In a defensive showdown, Olympiacos Piraeus outlasted Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in the Greek Basketball Cup final with a score of 58-69.

Points this season

48%80,8Points made:80,8Accuracy:47,6%Place in standings:10Record max:99Record min:68Best scorer:Kendrick NunnTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

After the game, Ergin Ataman of Panathinaikos could neither hide his disappointment nor exaggerate the importance of the loss of the cup.

"I have said from the beginning that tomorrow, no one will remember who lost and who won," Ataman started. "Olympiacos played better than us. They deserved to win.Overall, we didn't play well, mainly in the offense, and tonight we played our worst game, with Olympiakos playing a very good defense," the coach lauded Georgios Bartzokas's quad.

However, the Turkish specialist also felt that there was faulty refereeing in the game, which impacted it negatively.

"The match was a derby until the referees didn't give a foul on [Marius] Grigonis' three-pointer and gave us a technical. It was an important decision in the match," he explained. "Olympiacos deserved to win and won. I'm upset we lost the final. Our goal is the EuroLeague and the league championship, where we have the advantage," Ataman eventually said, choosing to leave the cup behind.

Ataman also commented on some of his players. He confirmed Luca Vildoza's injury and said that Aleksander Balcerowski was the "third center" of the team before praising Konstantinos Mitoglou, who was arguably PAO's best player in the game: "Mitoglou played center and was very good."

Finally, the Turkish coach criticized the shooting performances of Kostas Sloukas and Marius Grigonis, as is customary in his style.

"Sloukas and Girgonis missed every shot," he was blunt. "I think the key was [Moustapha] Fall's defense.And [Kendrick] Nunn didn't find the opportunities like in previous games."

With PAO's fall to Olympiacos in the 2024 Greek Basketball Cup final, the Greens remained cup-sick as they last won it in the 2020-21 season, with all subsequent cups being won by the red-and-white team.

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