Tomas Satoransky: “Everything has to come out of ’10’, it’s the game of the year”
BARCELONA, 7 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Barça coach, Roger Grimau, commented in the preview of the fifth and final match of the Euroleague ‘Playoffs’ against Olympiacos, this Wednesday at the Palau Blaugrana (9:00 p.m.), that playing at home “does not guarantee” anything and that is why He hopes to take advantage of the “extra energy” that the fans do give to have another magical night and seal the ticket for the Final Four in Berlin.
“It is evident that playing at home or away does not guarantee winning or losing. What playing at home gives you is an extra energy or intensity, but it does not guarantee victory,” the Blaugrana coach stressed at a press conference.
Of course, he hopes that the Palau, without being decisive, comes close to being so. “I hope for a night like all the great Palau nights that I know, and I’m 45 years old; we hope it will be a very good night for Palau, which will support us as always. I hope it gives us extra energy and everything that is so important in a fifth game,” he said.
For this reason, he asks his players, after the disaster of the fourth game that tied the series, to play “very well.” “It is a fifth game and you have to do well many things that we have done well in three of the four games, at a defensive level above all. We must be faithful to our style of play, although it is difficult because Olympiacos allows little running and collapses a lot” , argument.
He believes that it will be important to “let emotions go” and at the same time know when they should control them more. “We have to take advantage of Palau’s push but being aware of the rival in front of us and their style of play, and that they take a lot of advantage from what we don’t do well. We know it will be an emotional match but I only see positive things when playing at home “Feeling that excitement before the game is always positive,” he acknowledged.
On the other hand, he doesn’t care whether his team is considered a favorite or not. “I don’t really care about favoritism. I think that the series, apart from one game, has been very close. I always believe that my team is the best and we are prepared for the game,” he said.
What he wants is to win and take advantage of the Palau’s wealth. “We are facing a great game, a fifth game that we have earned playing at home, for results and for the fans and for everything. Let’s try to make it the best possible, give everything and we hope for a very good game,” he said.
As for coming from playing an Endesa League match with extra time, while Olympiacos, again, has not played in the Greek league, he accepted it. “There must have been some reflection. There is always the feeling that the game you play in ACB before the Euroleague is going to go into overtime, due to Murphy’s Law or Karma. The calendar is what it is. I don’t know where it should go or end that reflection,” he said.
For his part, Blaugrana point guard Tomas Satoransky acknowledged that they will have to be solid. “You have to be solid for 40 minutes and even if things don’t go well in attack, always be involved in the game. Like we did in the first game in Piraeus. We were very focused and solid and this in the end decides, even if you are not so good in attack,” he said.
“In the last game several things came together. But they played to the limit and we didn’t match their physicality. And when you play with fatigue your success also goes away. You have to respect that Olympiacos makes everything very difficult for you and you have to be smart in attack and defense; they are a great team. It will be a battle,” he predicted.
Furthermore, he was delighted to be able to face this “final” at home. “Everything has to come out of ’10’, it is the game of the year. We have given everything to play this game at home. And what matters is that we do not want to spoil the effort of the entire season and I would not want to play in any somewhere other than the Palau, a match like that, because it supports a lot in important moments,” he assured.