Ataman: “First place in the league holds a great importance for us…”

Defeating Pınar Karşıyaka 82-80 in the overtime of the last match of the season of ING Basketball Super League, Anadolu Efes head coach Ergin Ataman stated his thoughts post-game:

"First of all, I must say that the atmosphere was beautiful. The audience was worthy of Atatürk’s name in the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Sports Hall. They reflect a great deal of energy to Karşıyaka. I congratulate both Karşıyaka Club and my friend Ufuk Sarıca. There wasn’t even a place to stand up, and if they were playing in an arena with 15.000 audience capacity they would’ve filled it. The force this atmosphere creates caused both teams' mistakes. The match went on with tempo, and we held the control of the match until the last 5 minutes. Then we’ve lost control and Karşıyaka gained with 6 points. We played against a combative defense, and we aren’t used to having our guards coming to the bench with 5 fouls.  The last 5 minutes of the match and the overtime were played independently of our usual sets. The score was neck and neck. We were 7 points ahead at the overtime but failed to continue with the score difference. They’ve shot and missed as well. We’ve won with Larkin. The offense quality was low, but the energy was immense. The score and the fight were splendid. Congratulations to both sides. The first place in the league holds great importance for us, there aren’t any teams that managed to win against Karşıyaka here yet. We advanced 2 victories against both Karşıyaka and Fenerbahçe with this victory. We’ve finished both league and Euroleague’s first half in the first place, I congratulate my players. We will head to Barcelona for a critical match. We’ve lost against them at home the first match of Euroleague, but Larkin and Beaubois didn’t play then. We’ve had a victory with a great point difference last year in the playoffs. We will try to play with the same method. We’ve won our last 6 away matches and we will go to this match for a victory as well.”

Tags:
  • Pınar Karşıyaka
  • Ergin Ataman