Chus Mateo’s Real Madrid was defeated in the last act of the EuroLeague Final Four 2024 by Panathinaikos after a season always on top. These are his words.
“First of all, congratulations to Panathinaikos, deserved champions. We did a good job during the season, but we did not reach the goal we wanted. We fought until the end, we tried to win two titles in a row, but it was not easy. In the first half we understood what we had to do against their defence, but they have very good players, they improved in the back, they started to press more with their defence and we started to lose energy, too many shots from outside. In the first half we did better in tackling, blocking and continuity…. Sloukas deserved the MVP, he performed key actions. Now there are two options: cry, and we will tonight, or get up and keep fighting for the rest of the season.”
“Everyone did their best, but in the second half we started to lose control, we lacked the discipline to look for Tavares, to look for our inside game. We were confused and lost intensity, we attacked in a very perimeter way.”
On fouls: “I am a little confused by today’s refereeing, we found ourselves with big man fouls early, something that had never happened to us during the season. Campazzo’s fouls were more at the end out of frustration, but that’s part of the game. This time we had the big man loaded with fouls and it was not the best day. I’m not complaining, but the level is expected to be a bit more even when it comes to using our hands,’ he says.
“It is true that the number of games is high, but that is how it is, we will play on Wednesday against Barcelona and we will not stop. It’s very difficult, but that’s how it is. It’s not easy to maintain fitness from start to finish, the level we have is incredible.”
“Because we took the easy way, the perimeter, without working first, without low post, without blocking, without getting previous advantages and that’s where we lost some intensity. Then the zone gave us a momentary effect, but Sloukas appeared with two big three-pointers. Today did not go well for us, and congratulations to the champions.”
“We never saw it as lost, only two minutes from the end, maybe we lacked strength and energy, but Panathinaikos played better. It is time to recover from this situation. We could have won two Euroleague in a row, we came close, but we didn’t succeed. We have to evaluate the trajectory and the work. We always had a very positive spirit, thinking we could win the game,’ he says.
“Today I will drink a beer with my wife and my children, who came (he says, quite excited), they are always there.”
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