Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens looks to end a lengthy championship drought when it faces Real Madrid in the EuroLeague Championship. After using a strong start and finish to dispose of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Friday’s semifinal, Coach Ergin Ataman states that “our goal is to win the finale… we are not scared of anything.”

Mathias Lessort, Panathinaikos: ‘We have to leave our heart on the court’

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens looks to end a lengthy championship drought when it faces Real Madrid in the EuroLeague Championship. After using a strong start and finish to dispose of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Friday’s semifinal, Coach Ergin Ataman states that “our goal is to win the finale… we are not scared of anything.”

All-EuroLeague center Mathias Lessort is confident of the Greens’ chances: “Madrid is the favorite. They have been favorite all year. We saw this year that we can match them. Just have to make them uncomfortable.”

The stands at Uber Arena will be packed with Panathinaikos supporters and according to Lessort, that can be the Greens’ secret weapon.

“Having the fans behind you to push you helps you to make the extra effort on defense, to jump higher, to get extra rebounds. When you get tired, just hear them pushing you gives you that extra boost that you might need to win,” Lessort said. “It’s gonna 40 minutes of basketball. It’s not rocket science or anything… We have to leave our heart on the court”

Real Madrid v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2024-05-26T18:00:00.000Z)