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PANATHINAIKOS
Head Coach
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OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
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"The first thing I said to my assistant coach when I saw that we were winning was, 'I can't believe it!' At the beginning of this Final Four everybody said that all the other teams were stronger than us, and it was true. In the game we had many problems and in the second quarter especially with Kinder's offensive rebounds.
But when we improved that aspect we played better offense. We also had a bit of good luck which is always important in these games. Let me tell you that it wasn't easy to beat Kinder at home, and they have a great coach in Messsina who has done impressive things this season and will continue to do so in the future."
"After winning my first Final Four with Partizan in 1992, my master, Aco Nikolic, told me, 'This will be the first you will win of many.' And all I thought was this guy is crazy! I thought that that could not be repeated, but he was right. Nikolic is always right."
"Here in Europe I feel great, in fact I don't like the United States. I have nothing against them, I woould just rather stay here. I think Dusan Ivkovic is the only one who is really ready to go there because everybody says so."
"I also want to recognize a player who wasn't in the Final Four, Gannis Giannoulis, who also did a great job throughout the entire season and we cannot forget him. This title is for him also."
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PANATHINAIKOS
Forward
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BODIROGA, DEJAN
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"What can I say? It was a great game between the best two teams in Europe who have shown a lot of continuity over the last few years both in Europe and their national leagues. The first half was so-so, and in the second we improved and we believed in ourselves. We worked on our offense and made sure that Kutluay could score well."
We also played a great game and we didn't let Kinder score. In a final like this the only thing you can do is try to fix things before it's too late and that's what we did when we were losing by 14, we adjusted our mistakes. In this kind of game you hardly ever look at the score and you just try to improve."
"Four years ago I was also the MVP of the world championships but as I always say, the 12 players of the winning team are all MVP's because we played together from the first to the last game this season and I wouldn't be MVP without players like Alvertis, Rogers, and a great coach like Zelko. With all this I always try to give 100% and now I want to go for the Greek league. It surely was the most difficult Final Four because we beat two teams like Maccabi and Kinder who was playing at home."
"I could have gone to the NBA six years ago but I wanted to stay here. In Europe there are many things to win and when you win, you get a lot of respect. After the Greek League, maybe I will think about going to the U.S., but I like the situation I'm in now."
"I think that his results speak for themselves. Obradovic is surely the best coach in Europe and we've been together for 6 years."
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PANATHINAIKOS
Forward
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KUTLUAY, IBRAHIM
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"The whole team played great, and Bodiroga is surely the best player in Europe. Papadopoulos also played great. When I played the European championship final last summer with Turkey and lost I felt very disappointed but that is over now. We are in the Euroleague and we had a hard time this season with injuries but this is my first European title and I want to thank my coach for it. In basketball you can always score and be offensive but the hard thing is being a good defender and we played a great defense without which we wouldn't have made it to the Final Four."
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PANATHINAIKOS
Forward
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MIDDLETON, DARRYL
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"I can't say how I'm feeling. I have been on the waiting list 14 years for this cup and now I hold it in my hands. It's the greatest day of my career. We won this final because all of us did our best, me, Johnny Rogers, Dejan, and Lazos. We did it!."
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PANATHINAIKOS
Forward
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ROGERS, JOHNNY
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"It's an incredible victory because it was unexpected, but this is what can happen in a Final Four. We weren't given a lot of chances before coming here, having to beat Maccabi and Kinder on its own floor in three days. It was great to beat Kinder, probably the best team in Europe, with great players, a great coach and organization. But when we got down tonight by 11, we kept our heads in the game and that was the key."
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