Ataman: ”We Didn't Lose the Play-Off Tonight...”

Head coach Ergin Ataman of Anadolu Efes, who lost 86-103 away from Fenerbahçe Beko in the 33rd week of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, explained his views after the game:

"First of all, congratulations to Fenerbahçe Beko. They deserved the win. They had a good night on offense. We saw that Calathes played very well once again. Then Pierre, Hayes-Davis, and Dorsey were effective. Throughout the match, my players reflected on their energy and struggle on the court, we made mistakes in defense in the last 5 minutes. Dorsey and Guduric's good performance in this period, our opponent won the game. Even though the game did not end as we wanted, I think it was a good basketball game. Once again, I congratulate our opponent. A stamp on the EuroLeague for 4 years. We made history. There is a failure this season. We did it together. I can say that we did not get enough efficiency in the roster changes we made for the EuroLeague at the beginning of the season. In the first part of the season, when Larkin was injured, we lost games to teams that were already out of the playoffs. These losses pushed us to the middle of the standings and at some point it was a game. There is a failure here. I am the biggest response. Just like I was named coach of the year in the EuroLeague in previous years, I was shown as one of the best coaches, but I have not been successful this season. We had serious problems with the team throughout the season. We did not lose the play-off tonight. Even though we won tonight, our chances were slim. We lost with the matches we lost to teams outside the playoffs.”