Chus Mateo, coach of Real Madrid, analyzed at a press conference the defeat of his team against Unicaja Málaga (82-93) in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey de Badalona 2023.
Game: “Congratulations to Unicaja. They put more intensity and we didn’t play a good game, especially in the second half. They shot much better than us, they passed the ball better and they went with a point more intensity on the rebound, a section that we had to win. We had a good percentage of two when we played inside but from the perimeter we were not successful, not even on free kicks. We did a pyrric 3 of 21 in triples. That is weighing you down. They were right with the big ones, which cause us problems when they open us up”.
mental defeat: “I could not tell you. In the first half we were good, but as Unicaja scored and we did not lose heart in the chances of victory. We should have been more aggressive, we didn’t play the way we had been playing. We notice its intensity”
Tournament: “The general assessment is that there is a lot of equality, everyone can win the Cup in three games and with this great level anyone can be left out.”
Soul: “The victory against Barça, the epic, gave them a point of energy that we were not able to match. They were very intense, for us the divided balls, the rebounds were for them. Indeed, the heart and the head count in this game and Unicaja had a little more soul”:
Rest of the season: “It is an important tournament but we have to keep working. We wanted to have won and played in the final, but what we can’t do is throw away all the work we’ve been doing
Losses: “We had discussed the losses. Against Unicaja, who is the one who recovers the most, we should have taken more care of the ball and yet we were not able to do it. Unicaja anticipated us in many moments”
rudy: “The game being the way it was… it came very just to the Cup. At halftime it was even, it hadn’t entered and I didn’t see it at that moment to put it in. We lost Llull who surely would have helped us. We miss them a lot.”
Rebound: “The rebound was key. They won it for us. They went with more intensity and they were better. Something that normally does not happen to us. They understood better that it was a final
No Euroleague teams: “The equality that exists in the ACB is enormous. There are teams with a very high level that makes things very difficult for you in a game”.