Pedro Martínez: “We start from scratch, without thinking too much about the past”

Pedro Martínez and Jantunen spoke to Realmadrid TV on the day before their EuroLeague debut (Thursday, 6:00 pm CEST; Movistar Plus+). The coach analyzed the game against Dubai Basketball: “We start from scratch, without thinking too much about the past. We know it is an extremely challenging competition for everyone. There are 38 games, and all teams have good moments and bad moments throughout the year. Last season showed that with so many games, it is very difficult for everyone to maintain a very high level, and you have to be mentally well-prepared. We must prepare well and individually give our best version, knowing that especially away, but also at home, every game is against strong teams.”

The opponent
“Dubai is a very tactical team, and they will surely have analyzed last week’s game thoroughly, so we expect adjustments. The thing is, since we won’t know what those adjustments will be until we see them during the game, the best thing is to focus on what depends on us, which is trying to execute the basic aspects of the game we’ve trained in the best way possible and then adapting during the game. What’s important is not so much what they do but what we do.”

Dubai’s intensity
“They also showed the other day that at the start of the game, they played with a lot of intensity. We have to expect the same thing tomorrow. We should be ready right from the first minute. Then, being aggressive on defense and fighting for rebounds will be very important. They are quite physical, and rebounds are where this is most evident. The other day, we lost many balls against them because their defense focuses on being in the passing lanes, playing hard there, and many of those turnovers led to easy baskets on the other side. We need to minimize that and do better than the other day.”

Jantunen: “We’ve prepared well, and we need to be ready for a tough game”
“Although I think we all love to train, it’s a different feeling when you start playing games and the season begins. So yes, I’m very excited. We have to stay true to our identity, keep practicing what we’ve trained, and play together. We need all 12 players to win a game like this, and I think our identity is the most important thing during the 40 minutes.”

The opponent
“It will be a very physical game. The first game was also very physical, and now both teams have learned from it and will make small adjustments. So I think it’s going to be a very physical and intense game. Dubai is a tough team. It’s a very difficult challenge for us to play against a team for the second time because it’s always different. It’s going to be a big challenge, especially playing away. We’ve prepared well, and we need to be ready for a tough game.”

The EuroLeague Super Cup
“It’s always nice to win a trophy. It’s a good way to start the season, and I think it gives us more confidence that the work we’ve been doing during the first few weeks is going well. We have to keep it up, and we have the potential to achieve great success.”

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.