Even with the tension of Thursday night, the coaches of the two winning teams, Pablo Laso, from Real Madrid, and Ergin Ataman, from Anadolu Efes, five Euroleague finals for the Spanish coach and three for the Turkish, participated in the press conference prior to the title match which will be played this Saturday (7:00 p.m., Dazn). They were accompanied by Vasilije Micic, the hero against Olympiacos, with the winning triple, and Guerschon Yabusele.
Laso reported that Williams-Goss will not be able to play in the final due to a foot injury in the second 52 of the semifinal against Barça. And he did not want to rule out Heurtel in public, although the reality is that the Frenchman has not entered the calls for more than a month and a half by technical decision. The coach also spoke of when he arrived at the white club as a player in 1995: “I think I didn’t understand what it really meant, that the important thing is not to arrive, but that is when you have to improve. I could have done more. Luckily, now I’m a Madrid coach and I know how to explain it”.
Yabusele: “Since I’ve been in Madrid things are going well for me”
“I am excited to play in the final, to fight and try to win it. My teammates have a lot of experience in these situations and I will talk to them until game time to help me. The NBA and Europe are two different types of basketball, but the winning mentality in a franchise like the Boston Celtics and in a team like Real Madrid you perceive in both cases. I am very happy to be part of this club, since I was at Asvel and came here things have gone well for me, also in the national team, but I am ready to continue working”.
Pablo Laso: “As a player I didn’t understand everything Madrid meant”
Goss’s injury. “I am very happy to be in the final, there is a lot of work behind this and I hope for a great match. Losing Nigel Williams-Goss early on, so early in a game, in a Final Four, it always hurts, but other players stepped up. The injury may be worse than expected, worse than a simple sprain, he will not be able to play. I say it, I have no secrets from Ataman. Nigel was giving us a lot of solidity at the point guard position. Losing him at this point is bad luck and a setback. I feel bad for him, because he would have loved these games”.
The story, every day. “They spoke to me before about the legacy, about tradition. Madrid is a historic club and as a coach I feel very proud because history is written every day, not just on an isolated day. The people who support us want to win, everyone wants to win, but they feel more proud of the way, and I feel proud of having these players under my responsibility”.
Can Heurtel play the final? “Yes, yes, there are possibilities, of course (he hasn’t done it for more than a month and a half due to a technical decision)”.
Doubts during the course in both teams. “I understand the question, but I have never doubted. The season has been tough, but nothing is easy in life and things don’t always go the way you want. Not everything is bad when you lose. I don’t think about the past, past is. We’ve had problems, I’ve talked about it with Ataman, how we’re not going to have problems playing more than 80 games”.
Prepare for Efes. “The first thing is to recover physically from yesterday’s effort, see how the team is doing and work quickly to change the chip. I see the players well, the only thing is Nigel’s loss. We have arrived at a good physical and mental moment, I always imagine myself winning, I try to be positive, but I have great respect for Efes and to beat a team like theirs we are going to have to do many things well. I think that what happened on Thursday in the two games will have nothing to do with what happens in the final. If my players don’t understand that we won a game, but that it’s over and now it’s a final, then they’re a bit silly. Guerschon, are you a fool? Do not…? Well, it’s already been said.”
The secret of mindset. “There is no magic potion, but the team has to understand situations since September, things that if assimilated can make them champions in May. Against Barcelona I was calm because I think the job was already done. In terms of motivation, this is the easiest, if there is no motivation in a Euroleague final… But what I do say is that you have to make the team see that the work pays off, that not everything is bad when you lose. I don’t play any magic keys, but I have great players and the first thing I want is for them to understand where they are”.
The final of the Champions. “I will not go to the Champions League final because we play on Saturday in Manresa, but my children want to go. When I left Vitoria for Madrid, I wanted to play for Madrid, but I think I didn’t understand what it really meant, that the important thing is not to get there, but that’s when you have to improve. I could have done more. Luckily, I am now a Madrid coach and I know how to explain it. For me, Madrid is the best club in the world”.
