Monaco came out defeated in the Leaders Cup Final match against Le Mans with a result of 104-96 and coach Vassilis Spanoulis heavily criticized the attitude his players had on the occasion. Below are his statements released to L’Equipe.
Spanoulis’ words: “We didn’t respect the game, we didn’t respect Le Mans. This attitude, this behavior, which I had seen before, led to this result. It is my responsibility as coach to change this situation. Le Mans showed incredible statistics, they had nothing to lose, they put up difficult baskets. But when you play with this spoiled child mentality, you see the result…. It’s unacceptable. I’ve been in basketball for 25 years and this behavior we had tonight is not mine, it’s not in my nature, it’s not what I expect as a professional coach. I am very disappointed with what my players showed. We do everything, me, the coaches and the staff, to avoid these mistakes, to hold them accountable for their actions. We talk to them, we tell them all the time, to respect the opponent, not to underestimate them. And how do we start the game? We give up two offensive rebounds to them. We know that Le Mans has only two real longs. Yet they dominate us? It was like against Partizan. And then, in transition situations, we don’t commit fouls to slow down the opponent’s game. As if it’s a mistake to do that… There are a lot of bad habits on this team. Sure, there is talent, which allows for big wins. But character and attitude need to change”.
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