Valencia is attempting to de-escalate tensions ahead of Game 4 against Panathinaikos. Following a highly charged confrontation with his counterpart Ergin Ataman on Wednesday, the Spanish coach Pedro Martinez expressed his apologies to the referees in a statement to COPE.
“I am not very proud of what happened on Wednesday. It was my first technical foul of the season. I wish to present my apologies to the referees because I put them in a very difficult situation to manage. Having to eject both coaches at once is complicated. I am not happy about it, but it happened.”
However, the Euroleague Coach of the Year remains firm in his stance that the Athenian coach’s behavior is unacceptable. Ataman, whose fiery demeanor mirrors that of his president Dimitris Giannakopoulos, has been highly vocal about the beginning of the series, which has understandably agitated his Spanish opponent.
“Personally, I was nervous because in previous games, Ataman put a lot of pressure on the referees and benefited from it. On Wednesday, he was trying to do the same thing when we were leading by 13 points. […] This is something that goes against the values of sport. But I have respect for him and Panathinaikos. […] I have no problem with Ataman and I would shake his hand this Friday.”
