Five games and ten benches were in action on Thursday night in EuroLeague. From the Tel Aviv derby to Luca Banchi’s debut with Milan, plus the convincing wins by Olympiacos and Real Madrid, here are the coaches’ postgame comments from November 12.
Maccabi Tel Aviv-Hapoel Tel Aviv 80-73
Dimitris Itoudis pointed mainly to Hapoel’s mistakes: “We started without energy, for no real reason. In the third quarter we completely changed our approach, raised the pace and defended better, but the 18 turnovers cost us a lot. Normally we are a team that stays below 10.”
The Hapoel coach also highlighted the 25% shooting from three: “We managed to get back into the game in key moments, but we weren’t able to turn it around.”
Olympiacos-Dubai 101-72
Xavi Pascual did not look for excuses after the heavy loss: “We absolutely did not play at our level. We were terrible defensively and we have to forget this performance as quickly as possible. Maybe we lacked energy, but in EuroLeague every team can have one or two terrible games. We have to bounce back immediately.”
Georgios Bartzokas also spoke about Olympiacos’ roster situation: “Last year we had four point guards, now we have two. In terms of creation we are not at the same level and we need another point guard. If we find the right player, we will make a move.”
On Tyler Dorsey’s return, Bartzokas added: “Olympiacos did nothing wrong. The player now has to earn his place back.”
Valencia-Bayern 102-87
Xavi Albert praised Valencia’s defensive work: “We played a very complete game, pressing full court and showing great willingness to sacrifice. We had a few ups and downs, but we executed the game plan almost perfectly.”
On Valencia’s best-ever EuroLeague start: “The record gives us nothing, but it confirms what we believe in and the work we are doing.”
Anton Gavel focused on Bayern’s 18 turnovers: “Valencia deserved to win. In the first half, six of our nine turnovers came almost consecutively and they punished us every time. In the second half we got back to within five and had the momentum, then two more turnovers immediately took it away.”
The Bayern coach added: “Allowing 100 points is too much if you want to win on the road.”
Olimpia Milan-Zalgiris Kaunas 83-86
Luca Banchi saw positive signs despite the defeat: “We approached the game well, with energy and the desire to do well. Then we started to suffer their size, especially on the boards, and we lost clarity and energy.”
The Milan coach praised the late comeback: “The rally in the final minutes was impressive. We even had the shot to tie the game.”
On Moses Wright, Banchi was direct: “He has to work all the way through on his game and also mentally. At the first difficulties I saw him lose a lot of confidence.”
Tomas Masiulis said: “We played 35 minutes of really solid basketball and executed the game plan the way we wanted. At the end we relaxed too much, lost ourselves a little and were fortunate to come away with the win.”
Real Madrid-Crvena Zvezda 105-84
Pedro Martinez kept his tone measured after the comfortable win: “We started very well, with great accuracy and good defense. In the second quarter we struggled more, but after halftime we went back to doing things well. Overall, it was a very solid game.”
On the absences: “We shouldn’t brag about it, we are Real Madrid. We miss the players who are not available, but we trust the ones who play.”
Ibon Navarro was much more critical: “Our approach was terrible. We lacked intensity, toughness and energy. Real Madrid is a very strong team: if you don’t match their physical level and intensity, they destroy you.”
The Crvena Zvezda coach concluded: “We have to learn from this game. Sometimes you need to suffer like this in order to grow.”
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