Coach Ergin Ataman made a statement to the press members at Anadolu Efes, which will compete in the Euroleague Final-Four to be hosted by the German city of Cologne between 28-30 May.
Stating that they passed the Real Madrid series with 3-2 and made it to the Final-Four for the fourth time in its history, Ataman made an assessment about CSKA Moscow, which they will face in the semi-finals. The experienced coach also noted that he signed a new 2-year contract with his club and they will try to keep the team at the same level during this period. Ataman said: “We will try to keep Anadolu Efes at the same level for the next 2 years. Our team has been at the top of European basketball for the last 3 seasons. We are one of the teams that won the most games in this process. We are a team that enjoys not only the games it won, but also the basketball it played. We will try to continue this in the seasons. ”
‘I am in Anadolu Efes as long as I am not fired’
“After experiencing Anadolu Efes’ organization, I never thought of going to another team in Europe. We will have a serious, beautiful and harmonious relationship with Anadolu Efes for the next 2 seasons. I hope we will continue. We are actually very emotional people. We always create a bond with teams, players and institutions. No matter how successful we are, we will not change teams unless we are fired. ‘ He says. This is my situation. As long as I am not fired, I am in Ephesus, but if the offer comes from the NBA, we will consider it. “
‘We texted with Messina, congratulated each other’
“We are going to the Final Four to be the champion. I have met people who are my idols a lot in the past. I hope I will meet again, but there will be no idols there. We will play to win. I have great respect for every opponent. Messina is one of the foremost of them. After being in the Final Four. Then we sent a message. We congratulated each other. We mutually expressed our wish to play in the final. Hopefully this will happen. We will face each other in the final and we will be the winner. “
‘I evaluate CSKA in 2 ways’
“I evaluate CSKA Moscow in two ways. There is a section where they play with Mike James and they play without Mike James. There are teams in which two different strategies are applied. CSKA Moscow, which we will encounter in the semifinals, is accustomed to its new strategy, more within the team phenomenon, better defense, Mike James was a decisive player, but now there is a team based mostly on Will Clyburn. “
‘We are the 2nd best defensive team’
“We are the second team in the Euroleague that made the best defense. Most of our attacks are defensive. We are a team that has a lot of numbers with fast attacks and transitions. The tiredness factor appeared in the matches played in the play-offs one after the other. We had difficulties in the defense of some players. Final Four ‘ We are aware of the fact that we must defend at the highest level in order to reach the goal. We have a 3-week process ahead. We will start preparations. “
