Chus Mateo: “We're looking forward to getting back to Euroleague action”
'Zalgiris is having a great season and we have to be at our best', said Hezonja.
Chus Mateo and Mario Hezonja discussed the Real Madrid-Zalgiris Euroleague round 25 clash Thursday, 8:45pm. The coach said: "We're looking forward to getting back to Euroleague action. We have to be more intense than we were in Kaunas. We need to return to the same level as we were before the cup. I'm not prepared to say that we were affected by the cup. We have to focus on what's ahead of us. Zalgiris is a good team fighting to get into the playoff places".
"The cup is over and everybody knows that we didn't achieve what we had hoped for. Once it's over, just like when we win, we continue to work hard. The first major tournament of the season is finished and we're not going to drop our guard. We must now look ahead to the two competitions we still have to play".
"The cup is over and everybody knows that we didn't achieve what we had hoped for. Once it's over, just like when we win, we continue to work hard. The first major tournament of the season is finished and we're not going to drop our guard. We must now look ahead to the two competitions we still have to play".
"Zalgiris comes here hopeful of a playoff spot. We have to be clever and not let our intensity drop throughout the game, even if we're not shining every minute. Hanga has been suffering from a fever since yesterday and is not feeling well. He hasn't trained today either".
Hezonja: "Zalgiris is a very tough team"
"We have to perform at 100 percent in order to approach the game with confidence and fight for another victory that would keep us at the top of the table. It's important to focus on ourselves, on our defence and our attack. We must put right the mistakes and continue to grow as a team".
Opponents
"Zalgiris is a very tough team which is having a great season and is very well placed in the standings. They are looking to get into the playoffs. We lost the first game in Kaunas, where some of their players put in a great performance and we had a hard time stopping them".
Hezonja: "Zalgiris is a very tough team"
"We have to perform at 100 percent in order to approach the game with confidence and fight for another victory that would keep us at the top of the table. It's important to focus on ourselves, on our defence and our attack. We must put right the mistakes and continue to grow as a team".
Opponents
"Zalgiris is a very tough team which is having a great season and is very well placed in the standings. They are looking to get into the playoffs. We lost the first game in Kaunas, where some of their players put in a great performance and we had a hard time stopping them".