MADRID, Jan. 8 (SportsFinding) –
The Real Madrid basketball coach, Pablo Laso, acknowledged that the 12-win streak in the Euroleague spoke “very well” of his team, “very solid” in the competition for a long time, although he made it clear that they should not trust this Thursday of Zalgiris Kaunas, a rival who already showed “a lot of character” when he beat them on their court in the first round.
“Winning so many games in a row speaks very well of the team, sure, and also against the best teams in Europe, so it is to be very proud. It means that regardless of the victories, the team has competed well and has been very solid almost three months, that speaks very well of how he has responded even at times when people have been missing, “Laso said in statements to the media.
The Vitorian coach warned of Zalgiris, a “well-built” team that already beat them in the first leg even though they had the “controlled” game. “They showed a lot of character and we have to be prepared,” he warned.
“They have put an important player who is KC Rivers, especially because of the loss of Grigonis, who gave them many things. Lekavicius is very aggressive to the basket, Walkup is very demanding and Ulanovas is a very high player in the position of '3 “Then all the pivots can open and play well at the low post,” he added about the team of Sarunas Jasikevicius.
The former base confirmed the losses of Sergio Llull and Anthony Randolph and the “more than probable” of Gabriel Deck. “It is the one we have more among cottons and it would be absurd to force people we want to recover well in a month as loaded as this,” he replied, while indicating that Felipe Reyes “is better and has trained”, so he could Be of the game.
“I see Mejri better. He had the injury as soon as he arrived and he still needs to take mechanisms, but he always plays with enough energy and contributed it the other day, it will get better,” he said of the Tunisian center. “The other day was very effective and we hope that you contribute during the season like the others. You have to try to take advantage of your skills because you can also open and throw and we can not lose that,” he said.
The duel against Zalgiris will also mean the return to the WiZink Center in the Euroleague after three consecutive starts. “We wanted to return. We did it the other day in the Endesa League against Valencia Basket and now comes Zalgiris, a rival who always makes things very difficult for you,” Laso said.