Ataman: “We’ve played better within the last two minutes and won the match.”

Defeating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv team 91-89 in the 7th-week match of Turkish Airlines Euroleague, Anadolu Efes head coach Ergin Ataman stated his thoughts post-game:

"We started the match outstandingly. We’ve prepared our young player Erten Gazi to play against Wilbekin and he managed that perfectly. Erten’s defense was amazing and that contributed toughness. We’ve stopped Scottie Wilbekin but then Elijah Bryant took responsibility on offense and played amazingly. It was our fault for not to be able to stop their smalls within the first quarter. They scored 38 out of 50 with their smalls. That’s what we’ve talked about in the changing rooms. We’ve decided to pressure the smalls more but then Scottie Wilbekin started to score within the second half. They’ve controlled the game but we didn’t give up the match. We’ve used Rodrigue Beaubois and Adrien Moerman perfectly on our offensive game. Tibor Pleiss wanted to play even though he was injured and he played outstandingly. We’ve planned for him to play for about 10-15 minutes but at the end of the match, he played for 32 minutes. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv played fantastic as well. We’ve played better within the last 2 minutes of the match and won. This is basketball.”

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  • Ergin Ataman