Against all expectations, it was Panathinaikos who lifted the trophy on Sunday, in Berlin, in the Euroleague final against Real Madrid, the big favorite for their own succession.
Overwhelmed in the first quarter (36-25), Ergin Ataman's men gradually managed to reverse the trend, with a more solid defensive base and profitable options by banking on the Nunn-Sloukas pair (21 and 24 points) with Mathias Lessort in support to dominate near the circle.
Coming back to -5 at the break (54-49), Pana then took the lead in the middle of the third quarter by going 8-1 marked by two big baskets from Kendrick Nunn (60-57). It was then Kostas Sloukas who led the way by making two 3-point baskets. Real Madrid then faltered for good with a 9-0 concluded by two shots from Mathias Lessort (88-76), before losing two minutes later (95-80).
In tears at the end of another full match on his part (17 points, 6 rebounds), the French pivot savored what he described as the greatest success of his career, which began ten years ago at the 'Elan Chalon.
” It's crazy ! »he said at the microphone of BeBasket. “In the end, I couldn’t realize it. I couldn't believe that we had won the EuroLeague. But actually we really did it. I'm thinking about everything I experienced when I was young. All the troubles I had. All the people who helped me. All the people who didn't believe in me too. And I couldn't realize. I'm saying to myself, this is crazy what's happening.”
The two beautiful stories of the evening, with Ergin Ataman
Winner of the FIBA Europe Cup with Nanterre in 2017, then the EuroCup in 2021 with Monaco, here he is on the roof of Europe with this third European title in his career.
This is the other beautiful story with that of his coach, Ergin Atamanalso arrived at Pana this summer, and who for his part won his third Euroleague in four years after his double with Anadolu Efes in 2021 and 2022.
“He’s really a coach who gives us confidence, who lets us play. He signs players who have talent, who know how to play, and he gives us confidence so that we can be at the best of ourselves. We saw it tonight, we saw it throughout the season. We just had the right elements, we had a group that was hungry, that wanted to prove something, and that's what we did. He’s really a coach who brought us a lot, and allowed us to be here today.”
