A clear mistake on Papagiannis in the last stage

Speaking to Olympiacos after Panathinaikos’ defeat at the hands of Olympiacos, Kostas Mixas noted, among other things, the last stage in which the Greens complain of a foul on Giorgos Papagiannis. At the same time, he mentioned how the team developed during Christos Cyrillis’ pre-Playoff days in the Basket League.

Elaborating on what Costas Mexas said on Game Night: On whether the match went as Panathinaikos wanted and planned:”The match went where we wanted. Let’s take it to the last possession. We had to win the game or use extra time. We could have done a little better, but at the end of it there is a catch, a clear foul on Papagiannis, that would have given us the right, if Giorgos had put the shots, to move the match into extra time.

That’s it at the last stage. The picture in the defensive part, except for the second quarter, was close to what we wanted and what we said with the players in the exercises we presented and in the two videos we showed. In attack, for sure against Olympiacos changes we need to work more and we will have some problems. It is difficult, but from the analysis we will do the game to find solutions for the near future“.

For the final attack and if the plan was to attack Bacon:”The selection was to be with five from Olympiacos, Val in this case because Vyzenkov was our first target. It didn’t play out well in the first half, but Bacon made the advantage, and Williams’ attack was fine. We could have had a better finish but the foul should have been counted. Honestly, it’s a clear stage in front of the judges. It’s over, we have to move on“.

At what level is the team in terms of their development of the league:”Olympiacos got the home advantage. With our defeat against PAOK, within 100%. I think we’ve taken steps forward. The truth is we didn’t have much time because of so many games in a row. We set a goal in the playoffs to be more prepared than now, but we cannot be indifferent in the Euroleague either. A team like Panathinaikos cannot be indifferent to any match, even if it has no hopes of qualifying for the Eight. We don’t see them as training for anything either. We play with our tactics and win as much as we can. Obviously we want to convey this to the players, that there is no game without an interest in winning“.

For double rotation in the Euroleague and the Basket League:”It’s tough, we knew that from the start. It was a difficult decision with Matt Thomas, he is a very good professional who gives things to the team that others with his characteristics cannot. But with what happened with the change in the cup, our hands were tied. With Bonnetka injured, Grigonis’ choice was one way. Thomas will definitely have his part in the Euroleague matches, because he deserves it and deserves to play. We want to make the team better, with or without Thomas.

We do not want to stick to the excuse of another list in the Euroleague and another in the Greek League, because only Thomas is outside the Greek League. We can focus a little more on what to expect from the team and what we have on our hands in the Greek League, after what happened with Bonnetka’s injury, on how the team can improve in collaboration and automation. Olympiacos is ahead of us in being a three-year-old team. In defense we were good and came into the game at the last stage“.

See Kostas Mixa’s remarks from 32:08: