Abalde: "We will need to do a very good job for 40 minutes to win"
"We are very focused on approaching the game with maximum concentration," said the forward to Realmadrid TV.
Alberto Abalde spoke with Realmadrid TV the day before the game against Baskonia, corresponding to the eighth round of the Liga Endesa, which will be played at the Buesa Arena (7:00 pm CEST; Dazn). The forward analyzed this demanding matchup: “Another very tough game. Vitoria is always a challenging trip, especially with their fans.”
“They are a team that has just made some changes: they recently changed their coach and have new additions. Surely, they will present a very tough game. We are very focused on ourselves, on approaching the game with maximum concentration and trying to do all the things within our control well and compete.”
Differences from the EuroLeague game
“They had some absences of key playmakers, for example Duarte, who didn’t play and is an important piece in their game creation; the two new additions they’ve made, plus the time they’ve had, and now with the coach just arriving, he has likely been able to implement tactical changes in their play. I think they had another absence, I believe Kurucs, who is now back. It will definitely be a different game. Every time we go to Vitoria, we know how tough the games are, and we are very clear about that.”
Keys to the game
“We will need to do a very good job for 40 minutes to win. We expect a long game. I’m repeating myself a bit, but our basics: being proactive on defense, attacking from our defense, and controlling the rebound. From there, if we want to play at a high pace, we need to find open shots. The first thing is defense and rebounding, starting there, making sure they don’t play easily, and executing our game.”
Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.