Coach Ataman: Galatasaray are short of motivation

Galatasaray Coach Ergin Ataman admitted that his side are struggling for motivation after failing to qualify for the next stage of the EuroLeague. The Istanbul side lost their ninth consecutive game on Friday when they were defeated by Panathinaikos 86-84.

Despite a good 2-1 to the EuroLeague's Top 16, Galatasaray have nosedived with poor results being followed by player defections. Gala lost Furkan Aldemir and Carlos Arroyo - arguably their two best players - due to the club failing to pay their wages.

A rash of injuries has not helped their cause either. Despite playing significantly more experienced and motivated opposition, Gala put in a game performance on Friday, taking the game to the final possession where Justin Carter missed a potentially crucial free throw.

Although Galatasaray ran the six-time EuroLeague winners close, Coach Ataman admitted that motivation has been hard to come by during their slide.

"It is always hard to play a game like this when you don't have a goal," said Ataman. "Since we lost our chance to qualify, these types of games are difficult for us.

But all of my players played very good all game and were worthy for the Euroleague and Galatasaray spirit.

Sinan Güler also didn't play today. They hit many three pointers in the last quarter. It was an important game for them." The difference between the two teams was eventually decided by the Greeks' hot shooting from downtown, nailing six in the final quarter to win the game.

Patric Young put in a commanding performance for Galatasaray, scoring 24 points and grabbing nine rebounds as well as playing stellar defense while Zoran Erceg had 19 points. The Greeks had five players in double figures.

Dusko Ivanovic, the Panathinaikos coach, said after the game that his team were far from their best and criticized them for a perceived lack of motivation. "We didn't play good tonight," said Ivanovic. "It was a very important game for us.

For Galatasaray, it was a more normal game, but they were a serious opponent to us. We weren't really serious tonight. Especially in defense, we made a lot of mistakes."