Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Round 18 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.
Pregame quotes hub: 'We have to play the complete Anadolu Efes game'
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8 Mins read
Thursday, December 26
ALBA Berlin vs. Real Madrid (19:00 CET)
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"We know that ALBA is a team that plays without fear, it is a team that makes many quick shots, at the beginning of the possession, and against which we will have to be attentive to the pace of play that they try to impose. We have to continue with the defensive intensity that we have had in recent games, which allows us to run and have a balance in our game, have good ball circulation and be consistent on the rebounds."
Usman Garuba, Real Madrid center
"We are eager to continue adding victories in the EuroLeague and to do so we have to play as a team, with intensity and with great defense, without relaxing at any time. We are playing against a different ALBA Berlin from the one we faced in the first round, which plays at a great pace and will be very motivated against us."
AS Monaco vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (19:00 CET)
Tomislav Mijatovic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach<br> "We are entering the first game of the second phase of the regular season with a very demanding and challenging road game. Our opponent is a high-scoring potential team with several players who have high scoring capacity. We are ready to face the challenge. We have to play the complete Anadolu Efes game both offensively and defensively and put our maximum effort individually and as a team in order to reach our goal, which is to win the game."<br> Jordan Nwora, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward<br> "We are going to Monaco to play against a very good team. If we continue to build good habits and grow as a team we can extend our winning streak."
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. Zalgiris Kaunas (20:05 CET)
Oded Kattash, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv head coach
"Zalgiris doesn’t score a lot of points, but that’s due to their pace, so first and foremost, defense is key. We have weaknesses on defense, and as a team, we’ll need to compensate for them against very dominant scorers. Every time one of their players has the ball, we’ll need five players focused on him, and that’s something we didn’t do well in the [Israeli League] game against Jerusalem. We need to do that much better. Of course, as always against Lithuanian teams, we need to box out well for rebounds."
Jake Cohen, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv forward
"We are in the middle of a process and trying to improve. I think the results haven’t been good, but we know what we need to work on and believe in ourselves. [Coach] Oded [Kattash] will get us there, and the roster is capable. We know what needs to be done to reach the highest levels possible. We were very close in several games. We just need to execute."
