Chus Mateo: “We have to be focused and approach the game with a good mentality”
“We also want to secure home-court advantage as soon as possible in the EuroLeague”, said Tavares in the run-up to the visit to Alba Berlin.
Chus Mateo and Walter Tavares both spoke prior to the EuroLeague round 30 game between Alba Berlin and Real Madrid. The coach had this to say about the game on Tuesday (8pm CET): "We're going to try to distance ourselves from the last two games, which were good performances on our part, and focus on Alba Berlin who are a very respectable opponent, even though they're sitting in a low position. They're a very dangerous side. The important thing for me is to have a good mentality".
"They're a team on a good run, if they build momentum during the game, it wont be easy. We have to be focused and approach the game with a good mentality and without any distractions. They've got players who can score from a lot of different situations that we're not used to defending. They're not a very predictable team and we have to be very careful".
The team's momentum
"The team has been very composed. We've only lost nine games so far this season. I'm sure the other teams, both in the Euroleague and in the league, will be under more tension and more pressure than us. We have the same number of wins as last year at the end of the Regular Season".
Roster
"Neither Sergio Rodríguez nor Rudy will be ready for this double-header. Hopefully Hezonja could make it but he's still got stomach problems. Half the coaching staff and three players were badly affected this weekend. We'll see if he feels a bit better and can recover. We have a few other questions besides Hezonja. Llull and Poirier have some soreness and hopefully they'll be available. It's a very busy schedule and we have to be ready to cover for these situations with other players and not make excuses".
50 wins this season
"This is part of the journey. We're doing well and moving forward in both competitions. We have to put the results into perspective and keep working. We have to get to the playoffs in good shape and hopefully we can get home-court advantage early, which is one of the objectives we have set ourselves".
Tavares: "We've got our confidence back"
"Every game in the Regular Season is important and we approach them as such. We also want to secure home-court advantage as soon as possible so that we can focus on other things. It's always difficult playing against Alba Berlin, whether it's at home or away. They're a team which doesn't look at the scoreboard, they're going to keep running and playing their game. We have to be focused, dominate the aspects we have to dominate and start hard".
"The break saw us lose a bit of rhythm but we've got back into it with the two wins last week. They've given us confidence and we have to carry on playing with this momentum to try to pick up as many wins as we can between now and the end of the season".