Ataman: “We weren’t mentally ready for tonight…”

Defeated by Fenerbahçe Beko 56-73 in the first finale match of Tahincioğlu Basketball Super League playoff game, Anadolu Efes head coach Ergin Ataman stated his thoughts at the post-game press conference:

"I congratulate the players of Fenerbahçe Beko. They’ve played better than us and it appears that they saw this match as the return of the Euroleague match they’ve lost, they struggled for their honor. We failed to respond, this is the 80th or the 82nd match of the season and we’ve played our worst basketball tonight. Though this is a series, Fenerbahçe Beko team is 1-0 ahead. We will play again two days later, we will try to mentally prepare the team. We weren’t mentally ready for tonight, Fenerbahçe Beko came here mentally ready and determined. I congratulate Fenerbahçe Beko technical staff and the players.”

Our captain Doğuş Balbay also shared his thoughts at the press conference: "Tonight the fighters were our rivals. We couldn’t’ fight from the first minute of the match. The series is long, we've received a bad defeat but we will stand upright throughout the series. I congratulate our rival.”