Trinchieri: I am very proud of my players, I believe that we fully deserve these playoffs

Bayern Munich head coach Andrea Trinchieri talks after the win against Crvena Zvedza:

“Last year we had an incredible run to the playoffs. This year it’s different, but to be able to sit here and comment on the second playoff run is already great for this organization. It was very tough this year because the road was very rocky this time. But today we showed the best team play possible, and that helped the team. Starting with our franchise player Lucic, who saw that our big players were dominating. That’s why we wanted to play inside quite often. Then Djedovic’s defense comes to mind, Jason George’s influence, Jaramaz and Hillard with a lot of minutes in different positions. I am very proud of my players and I think we absolutely deserve to make the playoffs. The game was as expected, hard and physical. We had a slow start, as usual, then we stepped up big time and dominated them 48-25 in the second and third quarters. After that we controlled the game. I really believe that the best is yet to come, but I don’t want to think about anything else than enjoying being the coach of this team. (…) In the days before this important game, I didn’t realize how we would look in this important game. We prepared with ease, focused on simple things. The Milan game was important for us, it gave us a lot of confidence. Because we were playing without Nick and Corey and we didn’t train properly for 25 days – in the middle of the season. We had no players, no form, aliens took everything away from us. So it’s very important to have performed like that under a lot of pressure. We showed team defense and team offense and shared the responsibility. (…) We really wanted to get into the playoffs and know that we are the underdog. And then we wanted to soak up the experience from the EuroLeague and transfer it to the Bundesliga. Last year, everything was excellent until we ended up missing two injured guys, Paul and Leon. It’s going to be a tough schedule, but we already have the playoffs in the bag. Therefore, we will find a way to survive this schedule.”