Laso: “The team believed until the last shot”
“When Llull was going to shoot, I went for the rebound in case he missed it. It fell nicely for me and it went in”, explained Abalde about the crucial basket.
Pablo Laso and Alberto Abalde gave their thoughts on Real Madrid's last-second win over Monbus Obradoiro. The coach said: "I'd like to congratulate the team for the win. I'm asked a lot about the schedule and I always repeat that it's very demanding. We lacked that feeling today, we worked quite well as a team, but were a step behind them in a lot of situations. With 4 minutes to go there was a period when we were 7 up and we felt like we were dominating the game. But we must give a lot of credit to Obradoiro as they put in a great performance. They were extremely efficient and it was very difficult for us to defend against their shooters, who had a great night".
"It was a great basketball game, decided in the last actions and in the end it was Alberto's last basket on the offensive rebound that decided the game, which is what the team has shown all game. They played with faith until the last ball and that's why I'm very happy. What's more, it seals our position. With two games to go we have achieved it".
Compliments for Abalde
"It's one of those days when I have the feeling that he should have played more, because he played very well. He made very few mistakes. He had a great game and I'm glad that the winning basket was his, because I think he was very solid all game both defensively and offensively".
Poirier and Llull's performance
"Tavares being fouled so early gave more prominence to Poirier who had a great game, dominating on the rebounding, and drawing fouls. He did a great job and was really important.Llull was really good on offense, reading the game well. He scored 21 points in 21 minutes but the 5 assists and the sense of control of the game were even more important for me. In general, the whole team played really".
Abalde: "We're a very big team"
"It was an important game. We clinched second place. We knew it was going to be a tough game with them fighting to stay in the league. That's the way it was, right to the end. We had good spells in the game but we were unable to build up a lead. We're happy to get the game out of the way and pick up the win".
Laso's words of praise
"He speaks very highly about the whole team. We're a very big team. When you come in, you know what you're supposed to do. We're all prepared for what we have to do every day".
Final play
"I knew when Llull was going to shoot when he got it. I saw the chance and went for the rebound in case he missed it. It fell nicely for me in the end and it went in".
Regular Season
"It's been very tough. All the games are very difficult. It's also very hard to win away from home. It's a very long season with the European competition. We always experience ups and downs but overall we've been very solid, difficult to beat and we've secured second place".
"It was an important game. We clinched second place. We knew it was going to be a tough game with them fighting to stay in the league. That's the way it was, right to the end. We had good spells in the game but we were unable to build up a lead. We're happy to get the game out of the way and pick up the win".
Laso's words of praise
"He speaks very highly about the whole team. We're a very big team. When you come in, you know what you're supposed to do. We're all prepared for what we have to do every day".
Final play
"I knew when Llull was going to shoot when he got it. I saw the chance and went for the rebound in case he missed it. It fell nicely for me in the end and it went in".
Regular Season
"It's been very tough. All the games are very difficult. It's also very hard to win away from home. It's a very long season with the European competition. We always experience ups and downs but overall we've been very solid, difficult to beat and we've secured second place".