EuroLeague Round 9 continues on Friday, October 30 with seven games. From Dubai-Hapoel to Barcelona-Valencia, including Olympiacos-Olimpia Milan and Virtus-Besiktas, here are all the pregame comments from coaches and players.
Dubai Basketball-Hapoel Tel Aviv
Xavi Pascual: “Hapoel is playing very well and their recent results are excellent. They control the tempo and make the right decisions. They are the team with the fewest turnovers in the competition. We have to take it possession by possession and stay tactically engaged on both ends.”
McKinley Wright: “We have to take care of the ball, rebound, run in transition and keep their main guys under control. They have a lot of players who can score. Every little detail is going to matter.”
Dimitris Itoudis: “We are going to play against a team built to go all the way. They have three quality players at every position. We have one less day to prepare and a long trip, but we are ready to fight for 40 minutes.”
Amir Coffey: “We started the double week with a very good win against Efes, but the next challenge is always right around the corner. Dubai is a talented team and we will need to give everything to win.”
Anadolu Efes-Panathinaikos
Pablo Laso: “Panathinaikos is a very experienced team with dominant EuroLeague players and one of the favorites. We have to improve our defense, impose some physicality and be solid if we want to compete.”
Santi Yusta: “It’s going to be a tough game. They have a really good team and great players, so we need to be 100% locked in and stick to our game plan.”
Zeljko Obradovic: “Efes’ heavy defeat against Hapoel means they will definitely play a different game now. A few days ago they beat Zalgiris on the road playing perfect basketball. Yesterday was just one game. This is the EuroLeague, and the standings don’t always show the true picture.”
Mathias Lessort: “We have a long road to travel together. It’s important to have chemistry, especially off the court. It’s up to us players to have a good atmosphere in the locker room and on trips. If we enjoy being together, it will show on the court.”
Zalgiris Kaunas-Partizan
Joan Penarroya: “This is a completely different game against a different team. They have important big men like Valanciunas and Tubelis, they are very experienced and always have a great atmosphere. We need to keep improving and manage the difficult stretches better.”
Luca Vildoza: “It’s always difficult to play there because of their fans and the team they have built. They just beat Virtus by almost 20 points in Bologna. We need to stay focused, keep our heads up and keep working together.”
Olympiacos-Olimpia Milan
Georgios Bartzokas: “Milano didn’t have to travel. They are already in Athens and played one day earlier than us, so fatigue and energy could be factors. Their position in the standings isn’t impressive, but they have talent, experience and good coaching. Regardless of who is available, we must play like Olympiacos.”
Tyrique Jones: “There’s no doubt that we have the energy needed for the game against Armani Milano. We need to play our basketball, move the ball, play good defense and enjoy ourselves.”
Peppe Poeta: “We are going to face the reigning champions on the road, and that is enough to understand what kind of game we are going to play. Now we have to build on our progress, finish games better and stay consistent for 40 minutes.”
Virtus Bologna-Besiktas
Alex Mumbru: “It will be a tough game against Besiktas, who like us are coming off a loss and will want to turn things around immediately. We didn’t play the way we wanted against Zalgiris. Now we have another chance to play a high-level game.”
Kessler Edwards: “In a double week, starting with a loss gives you the chance to bounce back right away. The most important thing is to put together a strong team-oriented performance and follow the guidance from the coach and staff.”
Dusan Alimpijevic: “We arrived in Bologna 48 hours after our last game to play in a great atmosphere. Virtus plays some of the fastest basketball in the EuroLeague, with a lot of confidence and early offense. We must find the energy to stop their quick game.”
Metecan Birsen: “We are excited to be here. Virtus has a great atmosphere in home games. We want to stay together, communicate well on the court and try to add another win to our record.”
Barcelona-Valencia Basket
Aleksander Sekulic: “I don’t think Valencia changed a lot. They lost some important players, but they brought in high-level players like TJ Shorts, Armoni Brooks and Nikola Mirotic. There are many similarities to last year and Valencia is playing great basketball.”
Justin Minaya: “I know they’re one of the fastest and highest-scoring teams in the EuroLeague, but right now I feel like we have a good group and we’re ready. We need to keep doing what we’ve done over the last three games and carry that momentum into this one.”
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