Chus Mateo: “We know how important it is to win away from home”
“The team is good and we will go all out in Milan”, explained Tavares.
Chus Mateo and Tavares discussed the EA7 Emporio Armani Milan game (Thursday, 8:30pm CET). The coach had this to say about the Euroleague round eight match: "We know the difficult schedule and the 10 away games, but we're looking forward to this game, eager to do things well, to try to get our first win on the road in the Euroleague. It hasn't been easy for anyone to win away from home this season".
"I'm confident that we will find a way to play consistently well and throughout the whole game thanks to our character and tenacity. We've done some things very well but we've also done some things not so well. We've competed to win in every game. We're going to a tough place where we know it's difficult but where we'll try to get the win".
"We're going with our sleeves rolled up. The fact that we got a win in the league the other day at a difficult court is not going to allow us to relax at any time. We know how important it is to record away wins in the Euroleague. The results will come. I'm not going to get worried and make a team that works well on a day-to-day basis nervous".
Condition of the missing players
"Feliz is improving every day, at the right pace, and Garuba is making steps forwards and backwards. Until we can see that we're in a position to allow him to do a full training session without discomfort, he needs to recover well".
Opponents
"Mirotic and Causeur are two extraordinary players. We've got a special fondness for the Frenchman. He gave us a lot and knows us inside out, he's a great character and he's a gladiator. But we'd be silly to focus on them alone. We can't neglect any aspect. We have to be careful".
Ibaka's return
"We have to give him a medal of excellence because whatever we've asked him to do, he's done it so far. Apart from being a good rotation, he's going to help us, but he's already contributing with his energy".
Tavares: ‘We have to show the attitude we did in Murcia’
"The team is good. We're coming off a win in Murcia even though we've had a lot of injuries. We know that it's been an up-and-down start, but there's no excuse and we're going to go all out. We have to show the same attitude as in Murcia, to overcome adversity and difficult moments. The team always has given its best".
Opponent
"Every team in the Euroleague is strong at home and winning away gives you a huge bonus. We have to put in the best possible performance, almost perfect and not make too many mistakes, to try to get the win".