OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Fenerbahce Istanbul
"Playoffs games are always very tough, very difficult - and especially for me, of course. This is something that I never wanted to happen, to play a playoffs series against Panathinaikos, something very emotional for me. One more time, I want to thank all the people of Panathinaikos for how they received me. About the game, it is obvious that our second quarter was very, very bad. We turned the ball over very easily, 10 in the first half, and didn't try to play defense. The situation without any [committed] fouls while Panathinaikos scored very easy shots. This is what I talked about with my players at halftime, in the locker room. I told them it was better to go outside and be aggressive. We changed the game with our aggressiveness on defense, because they scored 16 points in the second half - this is not normal, of course, with the quality they have, but this happens in some games. The way we played defense gave us confidence to play better on offense, also. We scored some easy baskets in transition, started to go inside and one more time, thanks to our aggressiveness, we changed the game. We have enough experience to understand this is just the first game. We know it will be tough for us and Panathinaikos, this result doesn't change anything because if you want to go to the Final Four, you must get three wins. I insist, it will not be easy for us and for them. I expect a very difficult and tough game for us again on Thursday."