Chus Mateo: “We want to finish as high as possible and clinch home-court advantage"
“Granada are fighting to stay in the league and it won't be easy," underlined the coach.
Chus Mateo spoke to Realmadrid TV on the eve of the clash with Coviran Granada at the WiZink Center (Sunday, 12:30pm CEST): “We need to win the game because it's very important in the league. We're coming up against a wounded Granada team who will be keen to bounce back with a victory in Madrid. They want to stay in the league and they are fighting to do so. They'll be in this scenario to the end and we'll have to be very alert. It won't be at all easy."
“Finishing first in the Regular Season is relatively important, we would like to take top spot. We've been fighting to finish as high up as possible and to clinch home-court advantage, so I hope we can do it. It won't be easy because we have three tough games coming up, but we do now have an advantage. We'll do all we can to make the most of that and reach the very top. But I would stress I don't think that finishing first is a fundamental part of taking the league title. You then have to come through really difficult quarters, semis, and then, god willing, make the final to compete for the trophy."
EuroLeague Final Four
“We're achieving the goals we set ourselves, which was the plan. We wanted to finish the Regular Season well placed in the EuroLeague and we have managed home-court advantage. We didn't even need it because we didn't go to a fifth game. The other series are going to a fifth game and I think that will help us as well. Now we're two wins away from getting our hands back on the EuroLeague trophy, which would be a dream come true and we'll do all we can to achieve it. In the League we're up towards the top. We also won the Copa del Rey and the Super Cup so we're achieving our goals. We're going to remain ambitious to the end."
Objectives
“We have the Final Four coming up in 20 days' time, and we can't let ourselves be distracted in the meantime. That's no longer in any doubt, we've made it to the end. We have a maximum of 20 games left to finish all this off. We're really on the closing stretch and we have to stay focused because even if we do have the Final Four on the horizon, the games in between are hugely important. There are three in the Regular Season, plus the quarter-finals as well. We can't afford to relax."
Coviran Granada
“They're a team full of point-scorers. They're struggling because they have had a lot of injuries over the course of the season and have had to switch players. On the inside, their No. 4 is a great shooter and the point guard is having a good season. Their forwards can post a lot of points very quickly as well, we'll have to keep an eye on them. Then they have that fantastic offensive rebound, we will have to be at our best in those areas."