ASVEL Villeurbanne captured their fifth win of the season by holding off hosts Panathinaikos in Athens (84-70).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
37
|
| Elie Okobo | |
| Points | 35 |
| Accuracy | 13-19 |
| Rebounds | 4 |
| Assists | 2 |
T.J. Parker, head coach of the French squad, attributed his team's latest feat to its defensive effectiveness and also talked about Kostas Antetokounmpo and ASVEL's goals this season.
"We had a very great defensive performance- that's what we needed to do. Panathinaikos were averaging 9 three-pointers in their first two home games and they feed off the crowd," T.J. Parker commented at the beginning of his post-game press conference.
Asked about Kostas Antetokounmpo, he responded that he "is a great kid, first of all. He comes from a great family. My brother knows his brother and that's why we had the chance to get Kostas."
The French coach went on to say that the Greek forward-center is "a young player and he has to learn a lot of things. The G League and college basketball are not the same as European basketball.
When he played for Greece last summer, you could see he's got something. He works every day, we push him. He's learning quick and he's a great asset of the team."
With ASVEL being 5-2 in the EuroLeague, one could assume that the French club is already targeting the playoffs. However, that's not exactly the case.
"It's our second year in the EuroLeague. We want to get better every year. For us, if we can do as many wins as we did last year, everything that comes after that will be a plus," Parker explained.
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