Chus Mateo: "We played a very solid game"

Chus Mateo and Poirier spoke after the game in the Martín Carpena press room. The coach said: "We played a very solid game. Defensively, we were really good. We didn't lose patience and we followed the game plan. We did a good job in rebounding and I'm very happy because it's not easy to reach a Copa del Rey final. It's a very difficult tournament for everyone. I'm very proud of the players' work and their effort. We played better than we did on the first day."

"We played better as a team. The Murcia game was good for us and we were much more serene, controlling the pace of the game and the rebounding. We left them with not very high shooting percentages which helped us to play our game better."

"We defended well and we were physical too. There were some very good defensive moments, with everyone active. I like it when we step it up a gear and we stretch ourselves to what we can be. Sometimes, we can get a bit carried away and think that talent is going to get us the win, but it's not talent that wins games, it's the strength of the group, the effort and giving our all."

Tavares
"We're trying to involve him so that he can regain the feel for the game. We were able to give him some more game time today, but we have to go little by little. I'm sure he's going to have a great final and I'm very happy that he's back with us and is almost 100 per cent fit."

Keeping up the intensity
"I'm lucky to have very good players, to coach Real Madrid, full of players who know how to play basketball and understand perfectly what it means to play in the Copa del Rey. All credit to them."

Team level
"I'm happy because there are a lot of games and it's normal that over the course of a season a team has positive dynamics and some less positive ones. The work we're doing is good and we'd like to back it up with the title. It'll be very tough. We've been growing in the last few days and I hope that we can keep that level up."

Poirier: "I try to help the team"
"We played a solid game in defence against a very physical team. We have shown all year that when we share the ball and play together it's difficult to beat us. That's our team's core strength."
"I think it's my best season at Madrid since I arrived. I try to help the team and when you're confident it's much easier."