PASCUAL, XAVI
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens
"First of all, we are happy for this win, especially with our fans, who could enjoy today. I think we played a good game, good basketball, attractive on offense. We ran very well in the fast break and more or less we played good defense all game long. I think we did a great job, with some mistakes, for sure, but a nice game for everybody, especially for us. We are very happy to have qualified [to the playoffs]. When the EuroLeague started and we saw the quality of all teams, being one of the best eight teams looked difficult, and we did it. Therefore, congratulations to the players and to the whole club for the job done. It is my 11th consecutive playoffs appearance and I am happy I was able to do it. Now, we have to go game by game and keep trying. We have to carry on playing with the same mentality and play a new final in Tel Aviv in 48 hours, be ready for it, try to go game by game and see where we stand in the end… Mike James and Adreian Payne are helping us, but they need an adjustment period. We cannot make miracles. Nikos Pappas and Matt Lojeski came back after just two practices and they need time to catch the right rhythm. Therefore, we will improve little by little and reach the level we had at the beginning of January, when we were playing very well."