The general manager of PanathinaicSunny Betsirovic, talked about the course of his team Ergkin Ataman In the last two years and has dropped the Turkish coach for his presence inside and outside the parquet.
In an interview with Mozzart Sport, Sunny Betsirovic also unveiled a terrible incident with Ergkin Ataman after the Euroleague conquest, and took the … hat to the Panathinaikos superstar, Central Nan.
Betsirovic’s statements
“Of course, I remember above all the Euroleague title, Berlin, Final Four and this tale we lived for those five days. When we started discussing, we gave two, three, four years to reach the top level. However, with the investment of President Giannakopoulos and Ergan who knows how to do it, I think we have put all the pieces well to make a story about a movie».
For Ergkin Ataman: «Ergkin has a winner mentality. His very presence and his gift makes you realize from the beginning that we are here to win, not to compete. The combination of that, the president and everything in Panathinaikos was the key. Some consider him arrogant, but he has this approach that ultimately turns out to be victorious.
The best is an example from the first year. We went for the preparation in Slovenia, and Ergkin was not satisfied with some things and said we would never go there again to prepare. There I told him “Okay, what will happen if we win the Euroleague” and the answer was “if we win, then we will come here again”.
After the final and the title, we embrace each other, celebrate and then hit his forehead with frustration. I ask him what happened, and he says, “fucking, we have to go back to the cranny gora.” This is one of the best stories with him. He is Ergkin and has this humor inside him. No matter how rigorous it is on the parquet, off the field is a very fun guy».
For Central Nan: “There are many such players who are quality, but they can’t get over the pressure. For someone, the club’s jersey is just a jersey, and for some it has a weighing of 100 kg. Of the quality, top players are there, but there are a bunch of other things to determine whether or not you will win something and that is the biggest difference.
Centric had his first five games with difficulties and failed immediately. If he had come to any other coach, he might not have been as successful as with Ergkin. He felt how much the coach trusted him and gave him back. There were many discussions between me and the assistant with him to understand that it was a completely different sport and that everything was different here. It may happen that someone has two or three bad games, but then you can see the ability of the players to adapt as soon as possible. “