MADRID, 18 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid basketball coach, Chus Mateo, made it clear this Monday that they are “very calm” and that it must be other Euroleague teams that must have “more tension, pressure and uncertainty” and asked to “relativize the results” before to visit the German ALBA Berlin this Tuesday, “a very dangerous team” despite being bottom of the Regular Phase of the highest continental competition.
“I don’t know who says about the nerves, the tension and the pressure, I have been very calm the entire time and so have my players. We have lost nine times all season, I think the rest of the Euroleague teams will have more tension, pressure and uncertainty. We have the same victories (23) as last year when the Regular Phase ended, I am calm,” Chus Mateo said at a press conference.
The Madrid coach believes that the 50 victories they have achieved “is part of the way.” “We are doing well and taking steps forward in both competitions, but we have to put the results in perspective and be able to continue working. We have to get to the ‘Playoff’ well and hopefully we can quickly certify the home field advantage, which is one of the set objectives,” he admitted.
To do this, they are going to “try” to forget “the last two games” against Virtus and Unicaja, which “have been good” for their part, and “look at Alba Berlin as a very respectable rival, even if they occupy a low position.” “It is a team with a lot of danger and what matters to me is having a good mentality,” he said ahead of the visit to the European bottom team.
“They are a streaky opponent and if they get a good dynamic during the game it is not easy. We have to have a serious match, face it with a good mentality and without distractions. They have players who score a lot in different situations that we are not used to.” to defend, it is an unpredictable team and you have to be very careful,” he added of the German team.
Mateo will not be able to count on for this match either the one next Thursday in Belgrade against Partizan or Sergio Rodríguez or Rudy Fernández and “hopefully” he can do so with Mario Hezonja, suffering from the stomach virus that already kept him away from the duel in the Martín Carpena and that “half of the coaching staff and three players have been very affected this weekend.”
“We are going to see if he feels a little better and recovers, but we have some doubts beyond Hezonja because Llull and Poirier have some overload and we hope that we can count on them. It is a very tight schedule and we have to be prepared to supply with other players in these situations and not make excuses,” said the Real Madrid coach.