MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid coach, Chus Mateo, refused this Wednesday “to let it be said” that the defeat in the Copa del Rey “affected” the team, for which reason he asked his players for “more intensity” and “to be the same as before” of the tournament played in Badalona.
“We want to return to the Euroleague. We must play with more intensity than in Kaunas. We have to be the same as before the Cup. I am not willing to say that the Cup affected us. We must only look at what we have left. Zalgiris is a good team that is fighting to get into playoff positions,” said the coach in the run-up to this Thursday’s duel (8:45 p.m.) against Zalgiris Kaunas.
The Whites come to this matchday 25 of the regular phase of the Euroleague after losing (82-93) to Unicaja in the Copa del Rey semifinals. Mateo insisted that the tournament “is over” and acknowledged that they have not “done” what they expected. “From there, when it’s over, just like when we won, we keep working. The first big tournament of the season is over and we’re not going to give up. Now, let’s look at the two competitions we have left,” he said.
Finally, the coach of the third-placed team in the Euroleague referred to the European game this Thursday, against a rival they lost to (81-72) in Kaunas in the first round. “Zalgiris arrives excited to achieve a place in the playoffs. We have to be smart and not lose intensity throughout the game, even if we are not brilliant every minute,” he analyzed, before confirming that Adam Hanga, who did not train with the group, “he has had a fever since yesterday and he is not feeling well”.