MADRID, 12 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid basketball coach, Chus Mateo, did not want to give excessive importance to the possibility of finishing first in the Regular Phase of the Euroleague with a view to crossing the ‘Playoffs’, a possibility that mainly involves winning this Thursday in a complicated scenario and a “very intense” rival like Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“Each game counts, but finishing first has a relative value. The rival that touches us in the ‘Playoffs’ will be, choosing has always seemed regular to me because with all possible teams you can win and with all of them you can lose,” he said. Mateo in statements at a press conference collected by the website of his club.
The Madrid coach insisted that he does not remember a Regular Phase of the Euroleague “with such harshness and equality”. “We are in the last day and the crosses are not yet defined. We try to give importance to all the games, but sometimes that attention dissipates and the players are not oblivious to reality. We have had a very hard month of March”, he remarked he.
Regarding the duel against Maccabi, the coach from Madrid made it clear that they expect a “very intense” rival. “We must match that intensity and know that in Tel Aviv it is not easy to win,” he warned, pointing out that he expects a game different from the one in the first round where they won by 33 points. “We played well and we hit 18 triples. We had casualties, which we solved very well, but it won’t be like that this Thursday, we know what their pitch is like and the pressure from their fans,” he added.
Chus Mateo referred to the two most important players in the Israeli team, point guards Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin IV, who “are their offensive stilettos and great generators”, but he assured that “they have other good players like Colson, Cohen, Hilliard and two important pivots with a very decisive Nebo”.