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Fresh off leading Turkiye to a silver medal at EuroBasket 2025, Ergin Ataman quickly shifted gears and stepped into his role with Panathinaikos Aktor, preparing the Greens for the 2025-26 EuroLeague and Greece’s Stoiximan GBL season.

Speaking during the team’s preseason trip to Australia, the veteran coach shared optimism about the roster and its potential.

“We have an excellent team. For the last two years, we have had an excellent team, and now we have signed some new players. I believe that we will fight for all our big goals throughout the season,” Ataman said.

He acknowledged that several players had just returned from EuroBasket, but he emphasized continuity as the foundation for success.

“As you saw, we have the same system. We are 90% the same and the new players will contribute as well, just like [Vassilis] Toliopoulos did yesterday, who I like very much and will help us a lot. He is a very smart player,” Ataman explained after Panathinaikos’ exhibition game against Partizan in Melbourne.

Confident in his team’s depth, he even claimed, “I believe that this season, even if Panathinaikos played with two separate teams, both would fight for a spot in the Final Four.”

Ataman also addressed the health of Mathias Lessort, who is still sidelined during preseason.

“He needs more time, that’s for sure. But we talked and he told me that he’s doing well and things will probably progress faster than we expect,” the coach noted.

“I want Mathias, and I hope that when we return to Athens all the players will be on the court for our first EuroLeague game.”

With Athens recently awarded hosting rights for the 2026 Final Four, Ataman dismissed the notion of added pressure.

“I don’t feel any pressure because it will be played in Athens. The pressure is to be in the Final Four and win. It doesn’t matter where you are,” he said.

He praised the selection of OAKA as the venue, calling it “the most beautiful stadium in Europe,” and highlighted the passion of both Panathinaikos and Olympiacos supporters.

“Both teams reaching the Final Four is the most important. Just because the Final Four is in Athens, that does not guarantee a place for Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. We will fight to be there.”

Reflecting on his summer with Turkiye, Ataman admitted that while many saw the silver medal as a breakthrough, he left the tournament unsatisfied.

“Everyone is very happy because after many years, in a tournament outside of Turkiye, we had such a great result. But for me, it’s not the same, because I always want to win, I want to be first,” he said.

He described the loss to Germany in the gold-medal game as particularly frustrating.

“When you lose a game and you don’t have the same strength as your opponent, you can’t be disappointed. But in a game that we had control from the beginning until the last minute, and it’s decided in the last possession, for me it’s disappointing.”

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