Ataman expects surprises and says that his son is a Madrid fan

Ergin Ataman, coach of Anadolu Efes, left the morning’s anecdote by telling that his son is a member of the Real Madrid junior fan club, who like many Turks is a fan of his football team. The coach of the reigning champion showed his respect for Pablo Laso, from whom he expects some tactical surpriselike a year ago in the playoff or recently in Istanbul when he put Yabusele on his bases, and told how he manages the decision of who takes the final shot, whether Larkin or micic. Against Olympiacos, in the semifinal, he played the Serbian, who assures: “We have woken up with more enthusiasm after the bad start to the season”.

Ataman: “My son supports Madrid football”

A dominant Madrid under the hoop. “After a great match and an incredible semi-final, it is a glory to be in the final. Real Madrid is a great team and has great experience with its coach Pablo Laso at the helm. In the playoff last season we played against each other and he always prepared surprises. Madrid is very dominant under the rim, they have the strongest players in the area, so strategy is going to be important, as well as creativity with our point guards. Madrid perhaps uses tall men better. It’s going to be a demanding final, the semi-finals showed us how even we all are”.

The Madrid of soccer. “In Turkey there are many Real Madrid football fans and one of them is my son Sarp, who is a member of the Madrid junior fan club and receives a gift from the entity every year”.

The doubts of the beginning of the course. “This is the reality of the sport, besides, you are not going to find a team that wins every time. I was worried at the beginning of the season, not because of the results, but because we couldn’t find the rhythm and I told them that we were the defending champion. I respect Pablo Laso a lot, a friend, but I think we’re going to give it our all in the final”.

The semifinals and their influence. “According to my philosophy, each match is a different story. I don’t think yesterday’s possessions will affect tomorrow’s match, in fact our style will be more or less the same. If Heurtel doesn’t play, maybe they’ll do it with five greats, in Istanbul Yabusele defended our point guards”.

The decision of who takes the final shot. “I have players who have fun with our system. Against Olympiacos, Larkin was very good, but then he didn’t come back with the same rhythm, he had also had a problem with Sloukas in one on one. At that time I saw Micic more prepared, but I didn’t tell him to play it one hundred percent either. They have my confidence to read the play and decide. In the playoff against Milan, Larkin told me in the time-out that he felt fit and strong. He also told Micic, since they are both very good friends, and many times they manage it between them”.

Read Also:  The 3 Premier League giants who want to sign Jorrel Hato

The signing of Elijah Bryant. “Krunoslav Simon had a major injury early in the season which has left him behind physically. We could have signed an inside player, but we signed Elijah Bryant, because we’re a perimeter team. You can’t win a game with only two players and Bryant made a great contribution, in fact against Olympiacos he was the other hero of the night, everyone talks about Micic’s basket, but then there is the contribution of the rest”.

Micic: “The bad start to the season made us wake up with more enthusiasm”

Wake up with more desire. “For me it is a privilege to be here and I congratulate Madrid. Both teams have had a great season. The experience of this Final Four is unique, singular. Our bumpy start made us wake up more eager. If you lose a lot of games away from home, you see that something is not working and all the players had a great motivation to put out our best game. We knew that results would end up coming. Now we play against the legacy of Madrid, its tradition, and we want to do something important”.

physical problems “I took a hit in the second quarter, but I found a way to help the team until the end. So I hope to be good in the final.”

Serbian mentality. “I am happy to represent my country in such an important event. Perhaps the Serbian mentality, what I said, has been inflated too much. As a country we have responsibility in difficult situations, I grew up with players who did the same. And I always thought of being able to do it myself”.

The winning shot against Olympiacos. “Honestly, I was expecting a free kick, because we had problems with the free kicks, but when I saw that they were not going to make me personal, the end of the match in Piraeus crossed my mind, when I shot too early and Sloukas then scored. Now I wanted to hurry until the last moment, even if the shot wasn’t so clear”.

The experience. “In the semifinal, Larkin helped us a lot at the beginning and then Elijah Bryant. The experience of the previous Final Fours allows us to face the final better, we have to be calm. You can’t just win in 20 minutes, you need concentration the whole game”.

Recent Articles

Related News

Leave A Reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here