Real Madrid arrived home from Tel Aviv on Friday at seven in the morning; at night he met his rival in the Euroleague quarterfinal playoff, Partizan; This Saturday morning he has trained in his sports city and in the afternoon he travels to Barcelona, where the Catalans await him this Sunday at the Palau (18:30, #Vamos). A qualifying fight for the lead, which is now occupied by Baskonia, with the two big ones a victory behind. The triumph will be important and even the basket averagewhich at the moment is in favor of Barça, who won at the WiZink Center by nine (78-87). Chus Mateo, the Merengue coach, explains the situation of the team and the base position, the moment of Tavares, the strength of Barça and also talks about Partizán.
Madrid will have news in the direction of play this Sunday at the Palau, as Sergio Llull rejoins the team after two months, after overcoming the knee injury to the internal lateral ligament that he suffered in the Cup. Williams-Goss also returnswho had been out for a month due to a muscle tear. The other positive news is that Adam Hangawho injured his left knee on Thursday against Maccabi, Alright and he will enter the call, from which Randolph, Ndiaye and Rudy, the Mallorcan with a back problem, fall out.
News. “We are going to include Nigel Willliams-Goss and Sergi Llull in the team, who have been training at full capacity this week. Rudy has a little back problem and is going to rest, and Eli John Ndiaye and Anthony Randolph are also going to stay in Madrid”.
the base post. “Hanga doesn’t seem to be bad. And the recovery of both Williams-Goss and Llull is very close to the Euroleague playoff, we only have three games left (Barcelona, Girona and Joventut) before the quarterfinal tie and we have to take the opportunity to see how they feel, how they are doing and then we will make decisions. Everyone has to show what level they are at and what they can give us so that we can then make decisions”.
Immediate objectives in the League. “You have to improve in each game certain things that we can still do much better. We must know how to close some games evenly and be able, and even more so with the loss of Vincent Poirier, to rebound better, to be more of a team in that aspect, just as we have talked about losses throughout the year, which is also an aspect that very interested. We are a team that passes the ball fairly well, we give ourselves a lot of assists and we find ourselves in open shots even though they don’t always get in, but we have to have a certain offensive order, without limiting talent and without losing balls, which is something that weighs us down quite. Defensive rebounds, turnovers and the offensive order that helps us find open shots are very important aspects”.
The threats of the Barça. “They are finding more and more their style. Playing these two competitions (the ACB and the Euroleague) sometimes exposes you because the demands are great, but they are a super team that knows each other and plays really well. And that they have lethal players, with exaggerated talent, but who play very well as a team. Every time you see more of what he wants because he has been working together for a longer time than us ”.
The moment of Tavares without Poirier. “Tavares is going to play well, when he has to play well, he will be sure. Poirier’s loss worries me because he is another important player for us, who orders us when it comes to rotating and who helps intimidation, a weighty factor in our defensive game. But Tavares is going to play well, I am absolutely convinced that Edy, as always, is going to give the best version of him. He works really well, he always tries his best and does not hold back, at the right time he will be up to the task ”.
The qualifying significance: victory and average. “At the qualifying level, with Baskonia at such a good level, there are three teams fighting for the top. Of course it has significance, but over the years you realize that home field advantage in the Endesa League, with so much knowledge of the teams and arriving in a certain dynamic, sometimes goes to the background, it has happened in the last few years and it will continue to happen. We give importance to it, we work to be better and if we get the advantage, even better; but it would relativize a victory and play down a defeat”.
Partizan, the rival in the Euroleague quarterfinal playoff. “A very tough opponent who has been playing better and better, with a lot of intensity, with players of a lot of quality as well. Any of the possible rivals was very, very difficult. I think that the most important thing, because the opponent was going to be tough no matter what, is that we are able to focus on the one-on-one games and that we can assert the home field advantage that we have fought so hard for. Now is the time to assert it, the moment of truth. But first I would like to focus on the three games we have left, Barcelona, which is the most important because it is the first and because of the importance of qualifying, Girona and Joventut”.
