Ergin Ataman dedicated Panathinaikos' EuroLeague Championship victory to his late father, expressing heartfelt emotions after their 95-80 win over Real Madrid.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach Ergin Ataman stayed true to his pre-season promise by bringing glory back to the Greek powerhouse.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
31
|
| Kostas Sloukas | |
| Points | 24 |
| Accuracy | 6-6 |
| Rebounds | 2 |
| Assists | 3 |
PAO clinched their seventh EuroLeague title by defeating Real Madrid 95-80 in the 2024 EuroLeague Championship Game on Sunday night.
"It's amazing emotions," Ataman told EuroLeague TV after the final buzzer. "We are around 15,000 people here in Berlin. We deserved it all season. We had a great season. Tonight, we went down 15 points, we let them score 36 points in the first quarter, but we came back. It's amazing. I am very happy and proud."
The Turkish coach then addressed the recent passing of his father and dedicated the win to his memory.
"You know that I lost my father one month ago. I'm sure that he saw this. He was with me in all championships with Anadolu Efes," Ataman said with teary eyes.
"Now, one more time, thank you to all the Greek and Turkish supporters," Ataman added and then appeared in the mixed zone:
"I think it was one of the most impressive results of European basketball to guide a team from the 17th position to win the title in one year."
The three-time EuroLeague champion also praised veteran Kostas Sloukas, who won the Final Four MVP award after scoring 24 points in the final.
"He is an incredible person," Ataman said of the point guard. "I think he is one of the heroes of Greek basketball."
