EuroLeague Round 8 is in the books, with coaches across the competition offering plenty of reaction after another packed slate of games. From Dimitris Itoudis after Hapoel’s 118-point performance to Sarunas Jasikevicius’ criticism, plus Alex Mumbru, Tomas Masiulis, Peppe Poeta, Aleksander Sekulic and Georgios Bartzokas: here are the post-game comments from the coaches who spoke.
Dubai-Paris 93-99
Xavi Pascual: the Dubai coach pointed mainly to his team’s defense as the reason for the loss, stressing that scoring 93 points is not enough when you allow 99. Dubai managed to get back into the game several times, but mistakes in key moments prevented the comeback from being completed.
Bayern Munich-Barcelona 84-88
Aleksander Sekulic: “It was an important win because it came on the road against an opponent that was going to fight as hard as possible to get a home victory. In the end, we found a way to win.”
The Barcelona coach emphasized the value of earning another road victory against a Bayern team still searching for its first EuroLeague home win of the season.
Crvena Zvezda-Maccabi Tel Aviv 100-78
Ibon Navarro: “We played an extraordinary first half, but everything started with our defense. When you shoot the three that well, everything becomes easier.”
Crvena Zvezda had already made 10 three-pointers by halftime, using its hot shooting to build a commanding lead.
Oded Kattash: “At halftime I said it was embarrassing. We weren’t ready and from the beginning we simply weren’t there.”
The Maccabi coach took responsibility for a poor start that had already put his team in a very difficult position within the opening minutes.
Panathinaikos-Olimpia Milano 80-75
Zeljko Obradovic: “I’m proud because we fought until the end. We tried to play our basketball, but we were slow and that’s something we need to change.”
The Panathinaikos coach also stressed the need for better collective reactions on defense.
Peppe Poeta: “I’m proud of the guys, we fought hard. It’s the second game this week that we’ve lost in the final possessions. We probably deserved to win.”
For the Milan coach, consistency over the full 40 minutes remains one of the main areas to improve.
Valencia-Fenerbahce 86-78
Xavi Albert: “It’s an important win not only because of the standings, but because of the opponent and the way we achieved it.”
The Valencia coach highlighted his team’s defensive performance and work on the glass.
Sarunas Jasikevicius: the Fenerbahce coach was highly critical of the physical difference between the teams, especially on the boards, describing Valencia’s 21 offensive rebounds as unacceptable.
Baskonia-Real Madrid 86-104
Velimir Perasovic: the Baskonia coach acknowledged Real Madrid’s superiority and pointed to the difficulties caused by injuries and the lack of continuity in practice.
Asked about the market, Perasovic summed it up with a joke: “We want to buy good, nice and cheap.”
Pedro Martinez: “We played a good game,” the Real Madrid coach said, praising his team’s ball movement and reads against Baskonia’s different defensive coverages.
He also played down the winning streak: “We don’t think we’re superior to anyone.”
Besiktas-Olympiacos 73-81
Dusan Alimpijevic: the Besiktas coach praised his players’ effort after a game that remained close deep into the fourth quarter, stressing that his team kept fighting despite injuries and fatigue.
Georgios Bartzokas: “It was a very important road win in a fantastic atmosphere. Both teams fought hard and both had important absences to deal with.”
The Olympiacos coach highlighted his team’s 26 assists, its EuroLeague season high: “That shows we want to play together and with team spirit. In the end, that is crucial if you want to win.”
Bartzokas also discussed the depth of his roster following Nikola Milutinov’s absence: “We have five centers, so losing one is not such a big problem. On the perimeter we are missing three players, and that is also why we signed Konchar. With this schedule, you need around 15 players.”
On the closing stages, he added: “When the game became close, we relied on our defense and found some important baskets. That was the key.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv-Anadolu Efes 118-88
Dimitris Itoudis: the Hapoel coach gave major credit to his players for controlling the game through defense and pace, while maintaining focus despite a huge lead.
Pablo Laso: “In the first half, we didn’t reach the level of toughness and competitiveness the game required.”
The Efes coach also acknowledged Hapoel’s exceptional shooting night, led by Antonio Blakeney, while pointing to turnovers and mistakes that prevented his team from mounting a comeback.
ASVEL-Partizan 82-75
Tony Parker: the ASVEL coach highlighted the character shown by his team in recovering from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, describing the win over Partizan as one of ASVEL’s best defensive performances of the season.
Joan Penarroya: “In the last four minutes we stopped playing our normal basketball, especially offensively.”
The Partizan coach ruled out fatigue as the main reason for the collapse: “EuroLeague games last 40 minutes. We have to learn from our mistakes.”
Virtus Bologna-Zalgiris Kaunas
Alex Mumbru: the Virtus coach stressed that after a good opening quarter, his team gradually lost control and allowed Zalgiris to impose its preferred rhythm.
Mumbru identified poor three-point shooting, Zalgiris’ physicality, low-post play and rebounding as some of the main reasons for the defeat.
Tomas Masiulis: “We have to stay in games through our defense, because offensively some days the shots go in and some days they don’t.”
The Zalgiris coach praised his team’s transition defense and work on the boards, adding that he felt the victory was fully deserved.
Round 8 produced several recurring themes: physicality, rebounding, consistency and defense. Jasikevicius and Mumbru focused heavily on the physical impact of their opponents, Poeta and Penarroya stressed the need to maintain the same level for all 40 minutes, while Itoudis, Masiulis and Bartzokas all pointed to defense and collective play as decisive factors in their wins.
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