Chus Mateo: “We're doing well, adopting the mentality of not getting ahead of ourselves”
“Obradoiro are always a tricky team and even more so at home,” said the coach ahead of the matchday 14 clash in the Liga Endesa.
Chus Mateo spoke on Realmadrid TV ahead of the game against Monbus Obradoiro, on matchday 14 of the Liga Endesa (Saturday, 8:45pm CET). The coach had the following to say: “They're always a tricky team and even more so at home. They don't make things easy for us there and there have been games where we've had to reach the last seconds to beat them at their place. This game will probably be similar.”
“Obradoiro are a particular team because they're very aggressive, they press, they play well in the paint and they draw a lot of fouls because of how aggressive they are offensively and how close they play to the hoop. They have a coach who, in my opinion, is one of the best in the league.”
Mentality
“We try not to look to the medium term, only to the short-term. That's the way to go and we have to take it one step at a time. Now it's Obradoiro in Santiago. We're doing well, adopting the mentality of not getting ahead of ourselves, of respecting our opponents and not thinking about the insanity of a schedule that causes you a lot of problems because of the physical demands and the effort you have to make to keep your focus. And that's a credit to the players.”
The role of the veterans
“Sergio Rodríguez, Llull and Rudy have a lot of basketball games under their belts, a lot of experience and there are times when they can unblock possible jams that you get into. There are more complex games and there are people who are better at reading certain situations. Yesterday they understood that we had to pass the ball and move it like we've been doing all year. We managed to resolve a situation that wasn't so easy, although in the end the difference was a comfortable one. The team is playing well in general, everyone's contributing a lot and yesterday they had their turn.”