Ergin Ataman analyzed one by one the controversial phases of Panathinaikos’ first game against Maccabi in the OAKA for the Euroleague playoffs.
Panathinaikos lost home advantage with the “good morning” in the series against Maccabi, with the Israelis taking the first step towards qualifying for the Final Four of the Euroleague.
The greens, however, have terrible complaints from the refereeing of the match, with Ergin Ataman, in fact, analyzing all the phases of the first match about which the “clover” complains.
What the Turkish technician said in detail:
For the reasons that led to the defeat of Panathinaikos in Game 1: “In a basketball game there are also mistakes. It is not acceptable that we missed so many shots. We made easy mistakes, especially in the last minutes. Nunn had a foul problem. These things are in basketball and they can happen. Others were the strange ones. I stand by what I said after the match. This match for me is not “clean”. I want to show some phases that were not clear. I want to show you what happened…”
On the foul by Costa Antetokounmpo and the three shots on Wade Baldwin: “He doesn’t have both hands on the ball here. Maybe you can whistle a foul, yes, in the last 2″. Maybe. But, they give three shots. No foul play there with Costa Antetokounmpo. The phase is clear, he didn’t do anything. The opponent is flopping. There’s nothing, no contact, let’s continue.”
For the next phases: “There is a clear foul by Rivero on Sluka, they didn’t give it. Vildosa was fouled by Nimbo on the three-pointer. What is this; What did Nimbo do?’
About the phase with Bonzie Coulson and the change of possession: “She’s the one Coulson steps on the line. The referee on the line gives us the ball. Then he changes his mind. The back referee, in the centre, who is unlikely to have seen what happened, reversed the decision. They changed their mind without checking anything. Mitoglou was in when he touched the ball, Colson was out. The linesman made the right decision. But the other from the center of the field, who could not see what has happened, changed the decision and gave the ball to Maccabi. How did this happen; Why; That’s what I’m asking. There are human errors, but this to me is not human error. Lets continue”.
For the foul by Marius Grigonis in the 3rd period: “Foul by Grigonis, very questionable. Very questionable. The referee may have made a mistake, a human error.”
For Kostas Sluka’s foul and Baldwin’s three shots: “Here Slukas didn’t even commit a foul. He is in front of the ball. Baldwin seeks contact in the middle of the court and flops. Slukas tries to avoid contact. Three shots again. Come on now… This is ridiculous for basketball, for the world.”
For the foul that was not given to Lessor in the 37th minute with the score at 81-83: “The score is 81-83 and we have entered the last two minutes. Matias has the ball. The Spanish referee who in the first half saw the change of possession from the center is ahead of the phase. He didn’t give the foul. Watch the replay. There is a foul. The referee is next to it and doesn’t give it. Is it human error? Do not believe. He is the referee himself.”
For a phase a little earlier: “The score is 75-73, Rivero gets the ball. You see what he does.”
For Game 1 and the rest of the series: “We made a lot of human mistakes. However, what happened with these phases did not leave the match “clean”. 0-1, no problem. We were in control, we dominated. We had a chance to escape. But with those ridiculous decisions and our mistakes, the missed shots, we lost. Nothing important, 0-1. We will win the next game, we will take the series. This is what I want to tell you.”
For what his team will have to change all three defeats by the Israelis this year: “It’s not a psychological issue. We lost the first match in overtime. I remember being sent off with two technical penalties, I don’t want to go back to that match. Now we’re playing in the playoffs. We have no pressure. We want to play “clean” basketball, we are a better team than Maccabi. Tomorrow we will show this.”
For his statement at the press conference that he will leave if Panathinaikos does not go to the Final Four: “Listen to me. I stand by what I said yesterday. For the referees, for my game, for my statements.”
