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The Greek club, which lost its Nick Calathes symbol in the summer, tightened its belt and in the Euroleague is still below “Žalgiris”: in 11 games, the PAO has won four times and is 13th. Kaunas residents rank eleventh.
However, at the OAKA Stadium, Panathinaikos defeated two of the last four opponents, while CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes Istanbul lost only 6 and 3 points, respectively.
Panathinaikos is a large and very physical team that leads in the Euroleague in terms of rebounds. Therefore, it will be very important to equate them with physicality and to recover the balls, – pointed out M. Schiller before the trip to Athens. – As for the players, Nedovičius is very important to them. Papapetrou is also important on the perimeter. It will be a physical match. “
Photo from Getty Images / Euroleague.net/ Athens Panathinaikos basketball players
“Žalgiris” was already playing Georgis Vovors’ students in September, when the hosts triumphed in the preseason tournament in Kaunas by 81:74. When asked what had changed in the past three months, Schiller found similarities and differences.
“It just came to our notice then. Both teams improved, but they both stayed pretty similar. They changed defenders and we lost Steve, who we will have to play without. But basically, both teams play similarly, just improving their systems more.” said the Austrian.
Schiller will transport one less soldier to Athens: Steve Vasturia was injured in the weekend’s game against Vilnius Morning and will not be able to play for about two months.
Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Stephen Vasturia
All the gap left by the American who started this season’s Euroleague game in the fifth start will have to be filled by other players, the Žalgiris helmsman stressed.
“Some players will have to play more minutes. There is no other way out, no magic player who walks through the door and takes his place. We will have to use our resources. When someone in the starting five falls out of the lineup, other players who can fill their minutes must advance, ”explained M. Schiller.
We will have to use our resources.
Former morning legionnaire Nemanja Nedovičius plays first violin at the Athens Club.
In the first season, the defending Serbian PAO with an average of 14.1 points is among the ten most productive players in the Euroleague.
“As I like to say, we need to know what he is going to do. We also have to anticipate their actions to be in a good defensive position, M. Schiller said of the defense prescription of 29-year-old N. Novovičius. – This is a very talented player. He plays well when he starts matches perfectly, but he also has inferior moments. Our goal is to prevent him from shooting free throws at the beginning, so as not to increase his self-confidence. “
Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Athenian Panathinaikos – Berlin Alba
Another important PAO player is Ioannis Papapetrou. The 203cm tall lightweight forward striker scored 12.1 points this season and bounces 5 balls per game. Can the fall of S.Vasturia respond in defense of this Panathinaika weapon?
“It just came to our notice then. He plays second. Of course, we will have to change the rotation a bit, but Papapetrou will be played by the same people who would have played him even if Steve had competed. His loss does not change this, Schiller emphasized. – As for Papapetrou, he is a light forward who plays very physically. We will have to face his challenge. “
The strategist of “Žalgiris” confirmed once again that his team did not seek resupply even after losing S.Vasturia, there are simply no financial possibilities for that.
Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Martin Schiller
“As Paul has said in previous interviews, the current times are difficult due to the virus, especially for our club, which is losing a lot of money due to lack of spectators in the stadiums. Now we don’t have the resources to make up, so we will trust the players that we have, “Schiller said.
And is it possible that Tomas Dimša, who was loaned to the Gran Canaria team earlier in the season, will return to Kaunas?
“As far as I understand, this is not possible,” Schiller replied.
The matches between Panathinaikos and Žalgiris will start on Friday at 9 pm
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