Ergin Ataman comments on Achille Polonara possibly leaving Efes

2022-12-23 20:30

Ergin Ataman told Polonara's performance was not satisfying which limited his playing time, causing the player to become unhappy. If the right offer comes, the coach did not deny a possibility of the player leaving the club.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis
Credit Vangelis Stolis

Achille Polonara did not play a single second against Panathinaikos Athens today despite the team having a substantial lead throughout the majority of the game.

On top of that, there have been rumors recently about the Italian player leaving the Turkish club and possibly joining Virtus Segafredo Bologna. After the game, head coach Ergin Ataman commented on the issue.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't get the contribution we wanted from Achille Polonara, so we can't play him in league matches [due to a foreign player limit]. This situation created unhappiness in Polonara. That's why his manager contacted us and stated that there are clubs that want Polonara," Ataman said.

Achille Polonara

Achille  Polonara
Achille  Polonara
MIN: 11.71
PTS: 2.86 (54.29%)
REB: 2.21
As: 0.29
ST: 0.07
BL: 0.57
TO: 0.29
GM: 14

"He is of course a very important player. There is a 1-week transfer window in EuroLeague in 2 weeks, and we told him that we can talk about it if the appropriate conditions are met," the coach explained. "If Polonara goes, we have alternatives, we even have more than one alternative. We're looking into the situation but the reason he didn't play today was because of our match schedule."

Additionally, Shane Larkin was sidelined once again even though it was previously expected that the star guard would suit up for the club for the first time in the EuroLeague this season.

"His injury is not completely gone yet. That's why we want to play Larkin in a BSL game before the EuroLeague. We played Larkin in the Buyukcekmece match but he suffered a foot injury. The hand injury has healed, there is no problem in his hand now, but he has a foot injury," Ataman told in the press conference.

"We will look at the situation on the day of the Fenerbahce match (Monday, December 26th). As I said, we want to, first of all, see Larkin's situation in a league game, then we plan to give time in the EuroLeague," the coach continued. "Whether it happens this week or next week, we'll look at it according to the injury report."

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