Beaten for the first time on the European scene since their continental coronation (80-84 in Paris), Panathinaikos Athens left the Accor Arena with bubbling spirits. The Greek club lodged an official protest following a controversial sequence in the fourth quarter.
Claiming a foul on Dinos Mitoglou at 75-68 in the 37th minute, Ergin Ataman was penalized with a technical foul by the refereeing body. Except that the Parisians launched the counterattack at the same time, and that Kendrick Nunn was guilty of an unsportsmanlike foul on Léopold Cavalière. Enough to allow Tiago Splitter’s team to have three free throws rather than one, as requested by Pana, and to increase the gap to +10 (78-68).
Panathinaikos disputes the existence of the unsportsmanlike foul called against Nunn, arguing that the game should have been interrupted after the technical inflicted on Ataman. His request has very little chance of success.
Ergin Ataman and “the unusual game of Paris”
Double European champion without having the most slick team game on the continent, Ergin Ataman spoke about Parisian basketball at a press conference. “Congratulations Paris! For us, it was a very special match, against very unusual basketball. After eight seasons in the EuroLeague, this is the first time I have seen this unusual game. They run everywhere, shoot in less than 5 seconds. Their defense is very, very aggressive. I’m not going to talk about a specific situation but my players complained about a lot of things on the pitch. This is not common. This is the first time I’ve seen this in Europe. »
Relaunched, the Turkish coach then did not want to put a piece back in the machine. “I’m not going to make any further comments. Anyone who saw the match will understand. »
