Chus Mateo: “We have to focus on the next game and to fight to the max again”
“Every game's a final now and we'll treat them like that”, said Deck ahead of the second clash with Partizan.
Chus Mateo and Gabriel Deck spoke in the press conference ahead of the team’s EuroLeague playoff clash against Partizan. The coach analysed the matchup, which will be at the WiZink Center Thursday, 8.45pm CET: “Tomorrow is an important day. The playoffs are the toughest stage of the year. All the games are tough. If we have the same attitude, work as hard as we did yesterday and we work together, we'll have a chance to win.”
“The playoff series is long and we only have to think about the next game. We're going to try to take a step in the right direction. We got a lot of help from the fans and we'll get that again. The players' commitment can never be doubted. The only thing we can have in our heads at the end of the game is that we have nothing left to give. Yesterday we gave it all. Our heads have to be ready to fight to the max again.”
First game
“The way we lost the first game in the last second hurts. Punter deserves a lot of credit for scoring that shot with Yabusele on top of him - it was amazingly well hit, despite being well-defended. We have to recover as soon as possible. Our attitude allowed us to come close to winning the game against all odds yesterday. The Tavares situation disrupted our plans a little bit.”
“We battled, we fought and we had a chance right to the end. We even had the chance to close it out a bit earlier. We were also unlucky at one point with a three-pointer that bounced three times on the rim or a foul that was a bit difficult to understand in the last minute. Anyway, I have nothing to complain about in terms of the team's effort and the way the crowd was cheering us on.”
“The playoff series is long and we only have to think about the next game. We're going to try to take a step in the right direction. We got a lot of help from the fans and we'll get that again. The players' commitment can never be doubted. The only thing we can have in our heads at the end of the game is that we have nothing left to give. Yesterday we gave it all. Our heads have to be ready to fight to the max again.”
First game
“The way we lost the first game in the last second hurts. Punter deserves a lot of credit for scoring that shot with Yabusele on top of him - it was amazingly well hit, despite being well-defended. We have to recover as soon as possible. Our attitude allowed us to come close to winning the game against all odds yesterday. The Tavares situation disrupted our plans a little bit.”
“We battled, we fought and we had a chance right to the end. We even had the chance to close it out a bit earlier. We were also unlucky at one point with a three-pointer that bounced three times on the rim or a foul that was a bit difficult to understand in the last minute. Anyway, I have nothing to complain about in terms of the team's effort and the way the crowd was cheering us on.”
Deck: “We hope the fans can get behind us as much again”
“We have to remain focused until the end. The first match could've gone either way and it was decided on the last play. We have to take away the positive things we did, fix the mistakes and forget about yesterday's game so we can play at our best.”
Key points
“We have to remain focused, keep up the intensity, not despair and try to stay calm. That's how the game will go again. We hope the fans can get behind us as much again. Yesterday they were the same as always and we expect them to be just the same in the second game. They'll play the same way or even more aggressively. The win has given them confidence but we have to be aggressive and play our game.”
“There are so many games in the playoffs, you can't think too much about the last one. You have to try to focus on the next one. We all like to play in these kinds of games and experience these moments, so we'll try to do everything right. Every game's a final now and we'll treat them like that.”
“We have to remain focused until the end. The first match could've gone either way and it was decided on the last play. We have to take away the positive things we did, fix the mistakes and forget about yesterday's game so we can play at our best.”
Key points
“We have to remain focused, keep up the intensity, not despair and try to stay calm. That's how the game will go again. We hope the fans can get behind us as much again. Yesterday they were the same as always and we expect them to be just the same in the second game. They'll play the same way or even more aggressively. The win has given them confidence but we have to be aggressive and play our game.”
“There are so many games in the playoffs, you can't think too much about the last one. You have to try to focus on the next one. We all like to play in these kinds of games and experience these moments, so we'll try to do everything right. Every game's a final now and we'll treat them like that.”