Chus Mateo: "We will look to do our job well against Barcelona"
"We have to be fully focused to win on such a difficult court", said Hezonja prior to the Barça-Real Madrid Euroleague game.
Chus Mateo and Mario Hezonja spoke to the media in the run-up to the EuroLeague round 18 clash between Barça and Real Madrid, which will take place at the Palau Blaugrana. Our team's coach had this to say: "All year long we've respected our opponents, regardless of their name. Barcelona is a great club, but we will look to do our job well".
"Yabusele trained today and he will play as we see fit, but he's ready to get into the team's rhythm. Rudy is still struggling and we want to protect him. It's nothing serious and he'll be back when he's ready. Deck is progressing in his recovery, but we hope that he'll be back soon".
Focusing on ourselves
"We try to focus on ourselves and we only focus on the others to play better basketball. We study our opponents in terms of basketball, regardless of the rest of the teams' performances".
The demanding nature of the schedule
"We trained very well today. We have to try to manage the workload well and ensure that our players are in the best possible shape. We try to keep an eye on all of this, but in such a long season it's tough. The schedule is very demanding and we focus on each game".
Objectives for the new year
"The objectives need to be somewhat immediate in order to avoid slipping up along the way. I don't want my players to stifle themselves with such a tough schedule".
Hezonja: "We want to win everything possible to make our fans happy"
"We're doing well and we finished December strongly, allowing us to start the year with a good vibe. We have to approach tomorrow's game like any other, respecting our opponents and being as focused as possible in order to win. It's always difficult to beat a top team at their place".
"I'm very pleased to have won the MVP for December. It's for the entire team because they have won every game in December. This is helpful to the coach as well as the team".
What are the goals for 2024?
"We want to win everything and every trophy to make our fans happy".