After the thrilling victory over Barcelona in the 13th round of the Euroleague, Panathinaikos traveled to Belgrade, where on Thursday night they will face an in-form Partizan team (which has won three consecutive games).

“Partizan is a great team with an excellent coach and of course, an amazing atmosphere. It will be a very tough away game, but I believe that in such an atmosphere we have the experience to play offensively, and maybe we will play more aggressively than we do at home, because at OAKA we often have a lot of confidence that we will win the game. Now, we know that from the first minute we have to fight for every possession to win the game,” said Ergin Ataman before the team’s departure.

He added, “I also believe that Partizan is a team that doesn’t run much, so I don’t think the score will be very high in this game. It will be more important to attack wisely, not make mistakes, because the worst thing in such games is to give up points in transition. We need to control the game.”

When asked about his thoughts on facing Željko Obradović, Ataman spoke highly of the legendary coach: “For me, since I started coaching, it’s always a pleasure to play against Željko because he is a maestro, a legend of Euroleague history. It’s a pleasure and I always pay extra attention, trying to beat him. Sometimes I win, sometimes he does, but we continue to fight.”

Finally, when discussing the possible lineups for the game, Ataman showed a playful attitude: “We’ll see… Maybe in the game, five guards will play on both sides without a center, or the opposite. Five big men on the court. I enjoy this type of game.”