Chus Mateo: “This victory is a testament to the hard work that's gone in”

Chus Mateo and Tavares gave their thoughts on Real Madrid's victory on Unicaja's court, strengthening our team's lead at the top of the league. The coach said: "This victory confirms the work we've put in, it gives us the confidence to carry on working as we're doing and reassures anyone who might be nervous about any situation. I'm at ease. Coming first in the Regular Season has a relative importance as we have to play in the playoffs".

"I'm very happy and proud of the team's performance. We had some physical problems coming over from Bologna and there were some players who had an upset stomach. Those who took part, including Campazzo and Deck who had been in bed, were really good. Unicaja is a great team, their fans get behind them and they put a lot of pressure on us. We wanted to play well".

Keys
"We dominated the rebounding quite well in the first half. After that we stopped doing it. And we also had to be careful as their three-point shots were on target, but there was a moment when they weren't, particularly in the third quarter. It gave them the belief that they could win and they had a real chance, but we fought very well. We battled for every turnover, every rebound, and that gave us the win in a very even game and against a side that deserves all our respect".

Tavares: "It's been a good week"
"The team fought hard until the end. We knew it was an important game in order to increase our lead. I think this victory is going to be very good for us as we face what's to come".
"We expected a tough battle and we had to roll our sleeves up and fight for every ball. We managed to win the game with that attitude. It's been a good week, but there's another long one coming up and we have to concentrate and perform as well as we can".