Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Round 20 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.
Pregame quotes hub: 'We need a little bit of electricity in the air'
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8 Mins read
Friday, January 10
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (18:30 CET)
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Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Real Madrid (19:00 CET)
Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris Kaunas head coach
"I would be not super smart, not smart enough, if I would think that the development of the game will be similar to the game that we played in Madrid. They have played better in the last few games, going on a winning streak, and if the talent decides the strength of the team, it's one of the best. We need to be ready to play a different game. The thing is that I see my players every day, I see how we work, and I believe that tomorrow we will need the support of everybody because my team just needs a win to get back on track. We had one so-so performance, one terrible performance, one great performance, but the result didn't change. We played different; the Olympiacos game was really, really good, especially in the first half. We just need to play tomorrow not thinking about the single possession, think about the effort on 40 minutes, team plays on offense, team defense, and the unbelievable support of all Zalgiris fans. We need a little bit of electricity in the air, we need a bit of a push, we need a bit of everything because the only thing that my team needs is a good performance for 40 minutes. With the help of everybody, I believe that we can have it."
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"Zalgiris is a team that plays with a lot of energy at home, that is defending really well, that rebounds well and that is capable of beating anyone. We have to play a very complete game during the 40 minutes, without letting ourselves out of the game, because we know that they have players of great quality and a deep and very complete bench."
Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid forward
"Zalgiris is a very aggressive team in their game and very difficult to win in front of their fans. They are playing very well, but we are in good rhythm and I think if we close the defensive rebounding and if we run and defend well we can have a chance to win."
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Paris Basketball (20:00 CET)
Ioannis Sfairopoulos, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade head coach
"Paris will be a very demanding opponent who already have six wins away from home. They are extremely dangerous. Their style of play is such that if they catch you in their rhythm, you will have problems. So we have to play our game, control the rhythm and spoil the way they are attacking. We expect a big battle and that our fans will help."
Nemanja Nedović, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade guard
"We are playing at home, we hope it will be the best atmosphere so far. I think we deserved these two wins in Spain, and we hope to win again. I think that here in January the season breaks, one way or the other, but we are also aware that a lot depends on us. Paris is a team that plays quite fast, and atypical for today's basketball, but I think we know how to beat them, we showed that in the first game, and I think we will be ready to face everything that awaits us on Friday."
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. FC Bayern Munich (20:15 CET)
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach
"It is a very difficult game against a very good team, especially on offense. They have scoring guards who determine the game. Unfortunately, the timing is not good for us. We are missing Fournier and Papanikolaou. Both caught a virus, and they will miss the game. This fact makes our job even more difficult. Bayern has proven this season that they are a team with stability, not a shooting star. They have consistency, and they have made some big wins. It is going to be a very demanding game; that’s why all players must be ready to fight. All together and individually, we must fulfill our role in order to get the win."
Luca Vildoza, Olympiacos Piraeus guard
"It is a tough game. Bayern is a good team, and they are in good shape, regardless of their loss against Real Madrid. They will come here determined to defeat us; that’s why we must be ready for a tough game. After all, we play on our home court, with our fans on our side, and everything is in our favor."
Gordie Herbert, FC Bayern Munich head coach
"This is the tough part of the schedule: we play on Friday, Sunday, Wednesday, and then Friday again within eight days. We have injuries, but every team has to deal with that; we just have to push through, and resistance shapes you. If you're aiming to make the EuroLeague playoffs, the coming weeks are the big games. Of course, it would be great to stay in first place in the BBL, but you can still go into the playoffs later as the second, third, or fourth seed. I always watch a lot of EuroLeague games, and Olympiacos especially, because they have their style, move the ball excellently, and just know how to play. They undoubtedly have an incredible amount of quality."
Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (20:45 CET)
Dusko Ivanovic, Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach
"Baskonia is a very good team, with an athletic roster, and in the last game of the Spanish championship they proved once again that they are a level team. A few weeks ago in the first game we won, we were lucky, we remember that but tomorrow we will have to play better to win."
Rayjon Tucker, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard
"I expect a tough game, we know how the first game went a short time ago, with Will's basket and that's also why it will be tough. Obviously we are a bit of an emergency but that should not affect us in wanting to win the game. We will have to play hard and focused, putting attention on the small details."
Thursday, January 9
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. ALBA Berlin (18:45 CET)
Saras Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach
"ALBA Berlin is coming off a big win against Bayern. It was a big comeback for them. Like always, the most important points against Alba are to take care of their transition defense, their activity and not so much pick-and-roll related offenses as much as the off picks, so really concentrate on the off picks."
Marko Guduric, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul guard
"We play against a good team that likes to run. They share the ball very well offensively. We just have to try to do the same job as last game; try to think about ourselves, our defense, and the most important thing, try to win the game and protect our home court."
Israel Gonzalez, ALBA Berlin head coach
"We definitely want to take the confidence boost from our win against Bayern in the domestic league into the EuroLeague game against Fenerbahçe. We want to be more consistent and continue to improve our defense."
Malte Delow, ALBA Berlin guard
"We have to take the energy from the game against Bayern into the new week. New week, new opponents, new challenges. We'll fight our way from game to game, have to confirm our performance from Sunday and also want to take another step forward in the EuroLeague."
AS Monaco vs. FC Barcelona (19:00 CET)
Nick Calathes, AS Monaco guard
"Yes, it was an intense time with Barcelona, but I'm going to concentrate on the game and the result. We need to protect our home advantage – we've got three road fixtures next. It's a big duel, Barcelona need a win and we need to keep that same appetite for victory. I know we'll be highly motivated. Objectively, we want to stay top of the standings. It's going to be a big game, with great players on both sides of the floor."
Youssoupha Fall, FC Barcelona center
"Now we are in a tough moment, it's not really easy for us. But we're still good competitors and we want to win everything. We will do everything to try to beat Monaco tomorrow. It's a difficult game because now they play better than before; they have a new coach and they don't have injuries. They play good. I watched the last game of Monaco, and they really play good. We just have to play tough, play our game. No matter what is happening, we are still Barcelona, we have good players. We just have to play good, play our game, and I think we will win."
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (20:05 CET)
Oded Kattash, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv head coach
"They are in excellent form, playing exceptionally well after a somewhat slower start to the season. They are very dangerous, an outstanding shooting team with two versatile and dominant big men. This is a tough defensive team."
Levi Randolph, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv forward
"For us, we're just preaching a lot of the things Coach tells us: keep trying to get better on the defensive end, keeping the flow on offense, and just playing together. We know that basketball is a game of runs so there's going to be a lot of ups and down; we just need to withstand those runs and try to build some runs of our own."
David DeJulius, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv guard
"We have a brilliant coaching staff. As players, we've got to continue to grow together. It's a long season, 10-month season, so you've just got to weather the storm. It's about ups and downs; we've been down for a while, now we've just got to climb up."
Ettore Messina, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan head coach
"For obvious and known reasons, outside the realm of sports, Maccabi is living a not so easy season. However, its record is not mirroring what they have shown on the court: even when they lost, they lost competing through the end. They are a team with a clear identity, based on rhythm and ball movement, with players capable to solve the most complicated situation with their one-on-one moves. Keep them from deciding the tempo of the game, through controlling the boards and an accurate shot selection, will be crucial for our chances of winning a difficult game."
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (20:15 CET)
Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach
"Partizan is an extremely good team. I like their style of play, they have very offensive players, and inside, they have experienced players like Brandon Davies and Tyrique Jones. But mostly, of course, their game depends on their perimeter players: Carlik Jones, Sterling Brown, Frank Ntilikina, Duane Washington, who has averaged 17 or 18 points the last few games. It will be a very difficult, tough game. For sure, we need to be aggressive, we need to create a very aggressive atmosphere like we had in Belgrade; we had a very aggressive atmosphere there, so at the end of the game we lost by a huge difference. We need the same contribution here with our fans, and we need to fight for every ball."
Jerian Grant, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens guard
"They've got a point guard [Carlik Jones] who can create, they've got a big in Tyrique [Jones] who can go up and get it, so we're focusing on them. But they've got a team full of players who can play. They beat us pretty bad when we were there, so it's a game that we want and we need. We've been talking about it, we know what happened there, and we're excited to be able to play them here at home."
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade head coach
"Panathinaikos is back in top form, consistently securing dominant victories with significant score differences. Despite the absence of the injured Mathias Lessort, they’ve shown their depth and adaptability. We’re talking about a team that is not only a European champion but also built to chase the highest ambitions in basketball. They're already promising a fierce rematch with an electrifying atmosphere, similar to what we created in the Arena. They’ll undoubtedly aim to perform far better than they did in the previous game. For us, that’s an extra challenge and motivation to prove we can compete head-to-head with the very best teams in Europe."
Carlik Jones, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade guard
"We’re looking forward to the game ahead. We played exceptionally well against them at home, but we know this will be a completely different game. It’s going to be extremely tough and demanding, as we fully expect them to come out with more energy and deliver a much stronger performance than they did in Belgrade. We know what lies ahead, and we are ready."
