EuroLeague Round 8: coaches react as Poeta, Obradovic, Kattash and others speak after Tuesday’s games

The opening night of EuroLeague Round 8 delivered several important results and plenty of reaction from the sidelines.
From Peppe Poeta and Zeljko Obradovic after Panathinaikos-Olimpia Milano to Oded Kattash’s harsh self-criticism, here are the post-game comments from the coaches who spoke after Tuesday’s games.

Zeljko Obradovic: “An important win, but we still have things to change”

After Panathinaikos’ 80-75 win over Olimpia Milano, Zeljko Obradovic highlighted his team’s ability to battle through difficult moments.

“I’m proud because we fought until the end. We tried to play our basketball, but today we were slow and that’s something we have to change.”

He also stressed that Panathinaikos still needs to improve its collective defensive reactions despite its strong start to the season.

Peppe Poeta: “We probably deserved to win”

Peppe Poeta was disappointed after another close loss for Olimpia Milano.

“I’m proud of the guys, we fought hard. Unfortunately, it’s the second game this week that we’ve lost in the final possessions. We probably deserved to win.”

Poeta pointed to consistency as Milan’s main issue: “Consistency is what wins games. You have to play for 40 minutes.”

Ibon Navarro: “When you shoot like that, everything is easier”

Crvena Zvezda dominated Maccabi Tel Aviv 100-78 after a spectacular offensive start.

“We said before the game that if you make more than 12 threes against Maccabi, you have a very good chance of winning. We already had 10 at halftime. Everything looks easier when you shoot like that,” Navarro said.

Oded Kattash: “It was embarrassing, we weren’t ready”

Oded Kattash offered a much harsher assessment of Maccabi’s performance.

“At halftime I said it was embarrassing. We weren’t ready. From the beginning we simply weren’t there.”

The Maccabi coach also took responsibility: “We started terribly, we weren’t aggressive and after five minutes we had already abandoned our game plan. Obviously, I’m responsible.”

Xavi Albert: “This win means a lot”

Valencia defeated Fenerbahce, and Xavi Albert emphasized the importance of the result.

“It’s a very important win, not only because it adds another victory. The way it came and the opponent we beat give it a lot of value.”

Albert also praised Valencia’s defensive growth, rebounding and ability to withstand Fenerbahce’s fourth-quarter comeback.

Velimir Perasovic: “It’s difficult to improve without continuity in practice”

Following Baskonia’s 104-86 loss to Real Madrid, Velimir Perasovic acknowledged Real’s superiority and admitted his team lacked some of the energy shown in previous games.

He also pointed to injuries and the lack of continuity in practice as major obstacles. Asked about the market, Perasovic summed up Baskonia’s search with a joke: “We want to buy good, nice and cheap.”

Pedro Martínez: “We don’t think we are superior to anyone”

Pedro Martínez praised Real Madrid after its fifth consecutive EuroLeague win.

“We played a good game,” he said, highlighting the team’s ball movement and its ability to read Baskonia’s different defensive looks.

But Martínez also played down the winning streak: “We don’t think we are superior to anyone.” Real, he stressed, still has plenty of room to improve and must keep its feet on the ground.