Itoudis deploys visual aid to highlight dubious calls, Ataman asks for EuroLeague rules / News - Basketnews.com

A very interesting postgame setting took place after Game 3 between Fenerbahce and Efes. Dimitris Itoudis brought a laptop to illustrate what he perceived as referees' mistakes, while Ergin Ataman stressed that for some reason, EuroLeague rules aren't implemented in the Turkish league.

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/GettyImages Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/GettyImages

In a rather eventful game,Anadolu Efesdefeated Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul97-91 in the Turkish Super League semi-final series on Wednesday night. Ergin Ataman's squad have a 2-1 lead, despite getting off on the wrong foot and suffering a 42-point blowout in Game 3.

Free throws this season

82%13,4Points made:13,4Accuracy:81,9%Place in standings:14Record max:24Record min:4Most made FTs:Will ClyburnTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

However, what followed the contest itself was slightly more interesting than everything that had transpired on the court. Turkish broadcaster BeIn Sports asked both Ataman and Dimitris Itoudis to provide a comment on the outing.

Itoudis was furious about some of the three referees' decisions, while Fenerbahce issued an announcement, asking the Turkish Basketball Federation for explanations as to how the officials were selected and warning them of a "harsh response" in case the club deems that games are decided by the refs.

"I came here out of respect," the Greek coach clarified on camera. Itoudis congratulated Efes and went on to argue that "different criteria were applied by the referees."

"In a critical match with so many quality players, one team hits 32 free throws and the other 10. That raises question marks. I want to go back to Game 2. A player from Efes (editor's note: he probably referred to Will Clyburn) made two gestures toward the stands and he was not penalized.

In the Tofas match, Guduric received a technical foul for his gesture. There were 0.3 seconds left after Clyburn's three-pointer in the previous game, but they didn't give us that 0.3 seconds. Today I had a player on the side for a substitution (Dyshawn Pierre), but they didn't allow it," he pointed out.

Itoudis asked one of his assistant coaches to use a laptop and show some calls he thinks were against his team. In one case, he stressed that Elijah Bryant fouled Nigel Hayes-Davis, before the latter received a technical for protesting the non-call. On another occasion, Itoudis mentioned, with the score 93-91 for Fener, Hayes-Davis was again fouled by Amath M'Baye.

"I didn't want to come here and talk about the referees, but there was a big disparity in free throws today," he observed.

"There will be people who think we're right. Thank you for your time, I hope you don't misunderstand what I'm doing. Congratulations to Efes, they have a great team, a great coach, but we also play basketball," he repeated.

On the other hand, Ergin Ataman was obviously in the mood to throw some jokes and convey a different point of view on the same facts.

"Sorry I didn't bring a laptop," he said. "I came unprepared for it," he sarcastically continued.

"Of course, the atmosphere is tense, it's normal. That's half of what we experienced at the Ulker Sports Arena. Anadolu Efes supporters are already famous all over Europe with their fair play, but since they were also rebellious at the end of the match, the authorities will definitely evaluate the situation," he continued.

"There are mistakes made by the referees for both sides during the match. I objected at one point and got a technical foul, but the opponent team gets at the referees in every possession," he protested.

"The only thing left to do here is to apply the EuroLeague rules. In the EuroLeague, neither we the coaches nor the players can object to every call. If we get the first technical foul, then we get the second technical foul and get kicked out, but for some reason, those rules aren't implemented here.

Fenerbahce objected to the substitution, but I was told that Pierre was out of the game while he was on the court. Now, the player who has left the game cannot enter the game again, so the game clock must start running down, and then he can enter the game.

If Pierre was on the bench at that moment, then it's the table officials' fault and Fenerbahce are right. In that case, of course, the substitution should have been allowed. I wanted to explain the rule. I don't have a laptop, sorry, but I know the rules more or less," Ataman finished with the same sarcastic tone he had started.

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