MADRID, 21 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid basketball coach, Pablo Laso, has assured that this Tuesday against Anadolu Efes, on matchday 31 of the Euroleague Regular Phase, they will seek a victory that will help them secure “home field advantage” in the ‘Playoffs. ‘, and has asked his players “to make an effort” to recover “physically and mentally” from the tough last week.
“We know the difficulty of the game, taking into account what all the teams are playing for. We have four games left and we want to secure home court advantage as soon as possible. I think that with two wins we are mathematically among the top four and that is what we are going to do.” search,” he declared at a press conference.
The whites will once again have important casualties, which they already suffered in Sunday’s Liga Endesa defeat against BAXI Manresa. “The previous week has been physically difficult because we have had many people on sick leave. Now we are joined by another very demanding one with trips to Istanbul and Tel Aviv and Fuenlabrada at home,” he said.
“We must make an effort to recover physically and mentally, but we know that it will be very demanding. We keep the losses of Taylor, Causeur, Abalde and Alocén, who in principle do not travel. They are four important casualties. We put Sediq Garuba and we will see how is Hanga, who does travel, and the entrance of Thompkins”, he added.
About the rival, the Basque coach described it as “one of the most talented teams in Europe”. “He has very unbalanced players at all positions. Of course, Micic and Larkin, who are the ones the game revolves around, but then there are Bryant, Beaubois, Anderson, Singleton, Moerman… They are the EuroLeague champions for a reason and We always have a lot of respect for them,” he said.
“We know each other very well. Last year we played the ‘Playoff’ against them in a different situation but they keep the block that made them so successful. This season they have started slower, with injury problems and now they have to fight to get into ‘ Playoff’, something that we have already achieved,” he continued.
“Defensively we are at a good level in general terms, and offensively we lack fluidity and some success. We must improve our game in static and in the open field, because for us it is mandatory if we want to compete at the highest level”, he concluded.
For his part, Argentine forward Gabriel Deck stressed that Anadolu Efes” is “a tough team” and that they will surely pose “a complicated game.” “Playing away from home in the Euroleague is not easy and much less so in Istanbul, so, to win there, it will be necessary to offer our best version”, he underlined.
“They have a great squad, with very good players in each position who will need to be closely watched. I think concentration is giving us many wins and when we lose it we suffer a lot. That’s why tomorrow it will be key to maintain our ability to concentrate during the 40 minutes,” he concluded.