Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Game 1 of the 2025 BKT EuroCup Finals
EuroCup Finals, Game 1: Pregame quotes
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9 Mins read
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs. Dreamland Gran Canaria (tonight, 19:00 CEST)
Dimitris Itoudis, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv head coach
"We are excited because we play the final. We are excited because we played against a great team like Valencia and we managed to win in the series of three. It was not easy to win against Valencia. They were dominant in the regular season. They proved that they had quality, but now it's a new reality for us. We are getting to the final against another Spanish and very quality team that has been together [for several years+. They made certain accomplishments all these years. They have won the EuroCup in 2023 and are always there, so another difficult task. I like the fact that they are a team. They have a lot of good synergy because they have been together with their coaches over there for many years. Jaka [Lakovic] is doing a great job with his coaching staff and they have a lot of automatisms, meaning that they have a good chemistry. They are sized, can run the floor and can play well also five on five. They have scorers. They have big guys that they can shoot, they can spread, can go big ball, small ball, whatever it is. They can do several things well.
"There is not one key, a if it was one key, I would not say to you, I would not share it. But there is not just one key. There are a lot of things. It's an accumulation of small things that there has to be done in order to win. And we take it: this is a series of three games and we play against, as I said, a very serious team that knows what to do and what wants to do on the court. The fact that we play them twice is irrelevant. It's relevant up to one certain point because the teams have played together, but both teams were missing significant players. So you get some kind of a good feeling of what they are capable of doing but right now it's a different story. Right now it's a final. So we approach the first game very seriously."
Ish Wainright, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv forward
"Gran Canaria is like Valencia in a way, probably a little bit more bigger than Valencia. They are aggressive, too, but we played against them twice. We know what they can do. I'm pretty sure they are going to change up a few things like they did against us, but I know they are looking forward to this. This is the Finals and everyone wants to play them, everybody wants to get here and win. I know they are going to come here with a chip on their shoulder, especially because we beat them twice in the regular season. So I'm pretty sure they have a chip on their shoulders, for sure. They have a great core but also a great bench, with guys coming off the bench that take care of business. We have to lock in on our game plan and play defense. That's one thing that we are going to really have: to lock in defense. Our offense is going to come, get out in transition and play. We also have to make sure that we run our plays, that we know that we can score. And of course, take care of the ball."
Marcus Foster, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv guard
"This is what we've been talking about all season. Individually, for my career, I never thought I'd be in a game like this, so of course I'm excited. Ready to play. With the team we built, I think we can never really, truly be an underdog with the people we have on our team. But you know, it's basketball at the end of the day, so you have to show up and play your best basketball in order to win. They are very talented and can do many different things. They have an inside presence. They also shoot the ball very well. And when they play in the ACB, they have seen all type of competition, all types of lineups, so it helps them prepare for moments like this. So I think they are very well coached team and they have very talented players. I'm excited to play in front of our fans. I'm just thankful that all the fans come here and they show up for us and hopefully we wull give them a good game."
Jaka Lakovic, Dreamland Gran Canaria head coach
"I think the team feels good. I think we are in a good place, in a good moment, with good confidence and mentality to face this final series against Hapoel Tel Aviv. I think it's a team with extreme physical talent. Of course, it's a team that has invested a lot of money in their roster, full of players with top-level experience. I think they play very good basketball, different from us, because they have talent, they have the ability to play the way they play. We have to be prepared, prepare well for what we are going to face in this series. I think it's an advantage [to have seven winning players in Gran Canaria's roster] above all because of the experience. We know what we can expect but apart from that, it's a new final series. It's a new game against a team that we have already faced in the regular season. We have to face them in a different way. It is a new series in which everything starts from scratch. We have confidence and hope to compete well and have our options."
Andrew Albicy, Dreamland Gran Canaria guard
"We are very focused. We are looking very focused, we can't wait to start the final. They are a very talented player with strong individualities. They are good on every spot, so we need to be ready. First of all, we have to be very focused and smart, because there is a lot of pressure. But that pressure can give us energy, so it's good to take like that energy and use against the pressure. And just like I always say, defense wins championships, so we have to be very focused to play strong defense, as a team. After that, on offense, we have to share the ball, read what they want to do and take what our defense will give us. It was a different moment of the season. I think we are in a very good moment right now. We are confident about what we can do and like I say, it's the final, so the mentality is completely different. Maybe after these two losses against them, we will have an advantage. Maybe they won't respect as much as they are supposed to do but again, it's a final. Each team will give everything to win."
Mike Tobey, Dreamland Gran Canaria center
"We have been doing a good job lately, it is great timing to have good moment and I think we are definitely in one of our best moments of the season, if not the best. So good time for it to happen. Hapoel s a really talented team. This summer they made a lot of noise with a lot of big signings. They have a great coach as well, and are a complete team with a lot of talent that plays really physical. They are in the EuroCup for a reason, they have definitely been one of the best teams this whole season. Anytime you have an experience, that is always something good to have on your side, so having seven guys that have done it before is great. I have been in this position, we all can feed off of that experience but at the same time, every championship run is different and unique. It's good that we have been here. We have got that experience but know that this one's going to be different for us as well. We won some close games lately. It gives us confidence that if the game is close or even if we are down towards the end, we still have a chance to win it. We won two games recently with like last-second shots, which is always an exciting thing to have happened. But it also gives us the confidence to know that we have been in that position, especially even really recently. So if we are in that position again, to just be confident and know that we can win in that spot. Physicality is a big thing in this series, and defense is going to be huge. We know .how offensively talented they are and how they want to play on defense."
