Anadolu Efes Basketball Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman said that they wanted to complete their unfinished story last season by reaching the championship in the THY Europa League.
Ensuring to finish in the top 3 of the regular season before the last week’s matches in the Europa League, Anadolu Efes Basketball Team Head Coach Ergin Ataman answered the questions of AA reporters. Stating that they have performed well in the Europa League in the last three seasons, Ataman said, “When you look at the last three seasons, Anadolu Efes is the team that won the most games in the Europa League. It has achieved such an important stability in an organization with the biggest clubs of European basketball. It is very important to play the final in 2019. Last year, while having a great season, 6 weeks before the end with 24 wins and 4 defeats, the season was interrupted, and then they canceled the season. Anadolu Efes was the most successful team of the season. ” he spoke.
Reminding that they started the European League with some difficulties this season, Ataman said:
“The fact that Shane Larkin, the most important weapon of the team, started the season with a delay of 1.5 months, and many of our players caught coronavirus at the beginning of the season did not allow us to catch our stability last year. We did not start well, we lost consecutive defeats. After that, we started to play our own basketball as in the old days, with Larkin’s return from injury, the recovery of our players caught in the coronavirus, and the team reuniting as a full squad. We found our self-confidence when the victories started to come slowly. “
Experienced head coach, emphasizing that you can never achieve results with past successes in sports, “At that moment, the performance, form and motivation of your team are important. We all had a jolt at the beginning of the season. Not ending the last season due to reasons that we do not have when we are so close, we all inevitably feel emotionally frustrated, bored, dream This is how we started the season, but the machine warmed up again as the tension increased. We were all motivated again and we saw that we can continue the story we left unfinished this season. found the assessment.
“My biggest dream is to go back to that final and win the trophy this time.”
Ergin Ataman reminded that he won all the trophies in the European arena except the THY Europa League in his career, “I have all the cups in Europe in my collection. I did not win any of them as the coach of a favorite team. We came to the finals in the THY Europa League surprisingly in 2019. But in the final, we lost to CSKA Moscow because of our inexperience and our performance in that game was not enough. Anadolu Efes is Europe’s most successful team in the last three seasons. I don’t know of a coach who won all the trophies. ” used the expressions.
Stating that the championship goals put pressure on them, Ataman said, “If we can reflect the performance we have achieved since the beginning of 2021 in the remaining part of the season, there is no reason not to reach this cup. There are very strong competitors, but we do not hesitate from any of them.” stated his opinion in the form.
“I don’t want Fenerbahçe Beko to come out”
Stating that they have played very well in the Europa League, especially in the last three months, Ergin Ataman said, “In the regular season, Anadolu Efes is the team with the highest number of points and the second team with the lowest points. We will concentrate on whoever it is without underestimating the opponent. We shouldn’t think about the final game already. This season showed that many teams can get surprising results. For example, we couldn’t beat Bayern Munich and Zenit, both teams will stay in the playoffs and they are likely to be our opponents. high. Another possibility is that we may encounter Fenerbahçe. They also had a great end of the season. ” he spoke.
Stating that Fenerbahçe Beko had a very good break especially in the second half of the season, Ataman completed his words as follows:
“Let me tell you very clearly, we do not hesitate to play with any team other than Fenerbahçe Beko. Not only because it is a Turkish team, but when you look at it, Fenerbahçe Beko is the most successful team after us in the second half of the season. Secondly, Fenerbahçe Beko is a Turkish team, and they want both teams from different lanes to fight in the Final Four there. They met in the semi-finals the previous year, the chance of meeting in the semi-finals seems less this year. If Fenerbahçe Beko loses the Real Madrid match, it seems 99 percent Anadolu Efes match. Then, of course, we will fight with all our strength to pass the tour. I sincerely say I would not want Fenerbahçe Beko to come out. “
