Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Game 1 of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs
Playoffs pregame quotes, Game 1: 'We hold the cards'
Artikel
8 Lesezeit
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
AS Monaco vs. FC Barcelona (19:00 CEST)
Vassilis Spanoulis, AS Monaco head coach
"The playoffs are a new story, a new beginning for all the teams. It's up to us to make everything possible. Everything will come down to defense and our ability to make the right decisions. Barcelona has size, they're an excellent defensive team and dangerous in many ways. We'll need the best Monaco. We hold the cards."
Mam Jaiteh, AS Monaco center
"The goal is to win all three matches as soon as possible… Match by match. Barcelona is a strong team. As in any series, there will be moments that are harder than others, but we will know how to stay united each time. It will be a question of intensity; we will have to respond to the physical challenge posed by Barça."
Joan Penarroya, FC Barcelona head coach
"Logically, seeing the talent of both teams, the way both teams played during the regular season and the players of both sides, it would be logical to see high-scoring games rather than low-scoring ones. But this is the playoffs and we will see how the series unfolds. We know that they have a lot of talent, but we know that we can't only think about our offense. We are talking about a team that has always made it to the playoffs in each of the last four years and has played in the Final Four, with a roster that, at the beginning of the season, unlike ours, everyone thought it was a clear candidate to play in the Final Four. There are other teams that people may like or not, but there is no doubt that when it comes to depth and quality, Monaco is a clear candidate to become champions. Daniel Theis is a very important player, knowing that they already had [Georgios] Papagiannis, [Donatas] Motiejunas and [Mam] Jaiteh. We are talking about very experienced players in the EuroLeague. With Daniel Theis, some of them have played very few minutes. We are talking about a player who knows the game very well. He is an experienced, solid player who knows what he has to do in every moment, and it's clear that he has given them a quality leap and he makes them even more dangerous. It is a team which main strengths, especially on offense, are its perimeter players. It is a team full of stars. Mike James is obviously the most relevant but you have [Elie] Okobo, Jordan Loyd, [Matthew] Strazel, Nick Calathes, [Alpha] Diallo... There are not enough minutes in a game to fit so many star players. It is a team full of talent, with a lot of individual skills to play one-on-one. If we want to be in the Final Four, we have to play against these teams. This is what we wanted. We will have problems, but I am sure he will also have problems against our offense."
Dario Brizuela, FC Barcelona guard
"Monaco is a team that invests a lot of their game on its backcourt. We know that: Monaco has players like Mike James, who has marked an era in the last few years of EuroLeague with his way of playing, his ability to score and to lead teams to win. He's a reference for those like me who come from behind in his position or with his way of understanding basketball. It's exciting to be able to play against him, but I love to compete. He loves it, too, just like everyone else. As much as I like him as a player, I want to try to win and make things hard for him. From my own experience, having won both regular season games doesn't have much of an impact. In the regular season, there are many factors that can influence a game: The schedule, how you get to that game, many things. And now the playoff is completely different. It's 40 new minutes, each game. They come with a player they didn't have before [Daniel Theis] and we come without players we had before, so the picture changes a lot. Every game is different, so we won't care at all about winning those [previous] two games, but more about how we played and what we did well so they won't feel comfortable. That's what we are going to try to replicate as much as possible, knowing that it's going to be a completely new game from Wednesday to Friday. We are two teams very focused on scoring a lot of points. If both teams have a hood day on offense, we easily get to 90 or 100 points. I think the key will be on the other side of the court, being able to make the opponent uncomfortable, not finding the situations they want to look for, not feeling comfortable. I think both teams are very good in transition."
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Real Madrid (20:30 CEST)
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach
"Τhe experience at this stage of the competition definitely helps . Not so much for me - we’re not talking about me - but mainly for the players; it helps to have experience in big games. Of course, the same can be said about Real. The fact is that this is a moment we all wish to be part of. We worked hard all season to finish first. Our opponent is Real, no complaints about bad luck, that we could have had an easier draw. Every opponent has its value and its talent. All eight teams are very talented. I expect four very exciting series in all the matchups for a place in the Final Four. Ours is one of them. These are two teams with experience in such situations. The good thing for us is that we have home-court advantage; if it goes to five games, we’ll play three at home. We worked a lot for that all season. It’s important we take advantage of it as quickly as possible.”
Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos Piraeus forward
"We’re talking about a team with history, with the most EuroLeague titles. They were last year’s finalists and there haven’t been many major changes to their roster. The same players who played in the final last year are essentially still the core this year. The fact that they had a poor regular season doesn’t mean we should be complacent or think it will be an easy task. We’re going into a playoff series where you have to be focused and give everything to reach the Final Four. That’s our only goal, regardless of opponent; that’s what we’d pursue either way. With the seriousness and work we need to show on the court, if we are who we’re supposed to be, we can achieve what we want. We certainly face a very worthy opponent, but I don’t think any of the top eight, or even the top 10, teams played bad basketball this season or didn’t deserve to be here. Even the 10th-placed team deserved to fight for a playoff spot. It’s a process where a lot can change from game to game, momentum plays a huge role. That’s why we’ve been working all week, to be in the best possible shape and present our best possible version. Our goal is to reach the Final Four and win the EuroLeague. To reach that goal, we have to overcome any obstacle in our path, whether it’s considered easy or hard by public opinion. The goal has been clear since the beginning of the season. That’s what we’ve all focused on. The coach has said it many times. And as I said before, as long as we’re focused on what we need to do on the court, we’ll be fine, we’ll have the upper hand and control. We don’t have anything to fear, nor do we envy anything from any team. I believe we’re ready to fight for the wins we need to reach the Final Four."
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"We face the best team in the playoffs. Olympiacos comes off an extraordinary regular season in which it was able to get a well-deserved top spot. It played automatically, being really solid at both ends of the court. It was able to choose the shots it took really well, with two reference on the offensive end like [Evan] Fournier and [Sasha] Vezenkov, but counting on other players who are able to score at ant given time. Defensively speaking, Olympiacos is really solid and is very well-coached, with a coach that always makes the most of a team that really plays like that, as a team. It is a big game and a big playoff series."
Mario Hezonja, Real Madrid forward
"We all have waited for this moment of the season, the key moment. We had a lot of ups and downs to get here, but the most important is getting to this point. The team is ready to face this playoff series. In the last years, the games between Real and Olympiacos, in Madrid and Piraeus, have been really important even in regular season action. Both teams always have very good players and coaches, and every time we face each other, you can feel both clubs' pride, which makes these games even bigger. Olympiacos has been the best regular season team by far, but we are in good form and with good rhythm because we have played many do-or-die games lately. I think that can help us. We have to carry on playing this way."
Tuesday, April 22
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Paris Basketball (19:45 CEST)
Saras Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach
"We're very excited to start the playoffs. We understand the difficulties of Paris; obviously and more importantly, their speed, their transition game, try to make it as difficult as possible for their main players. We understand that it's gonna be a long and difficult series and understand that we're gonna have to suffer."
Nicolo Melli, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul forward
"Tough game. First game of the series. We need to defend our home-court advantage. They've been playing great all season long. They have a very specific identity. We will try to impose our rhythm, our style of basketball. It's not gonna be easy. It's the EuroLeague Playoffs, so it's gonna be a tough matchup, but we will try everything to keep the home-court advantage and advance. The fans whenever we need them this year, they've showed up. I know how Ulker Arena can be. For sure, it will be an extra push for us with them supporting us."
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:30 CEST)
Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach
"They have big potential. They didn't start the season well, but after that, after injured players came back to the team, they found their rhythm and played good basketball. Of course, now it's the playoffs. Both teams will put their power onto the court. It's the first game and we will be ready to win the game. Efes has great offensive players and they very well on offense, with good organization. Defense will be key in this series. I have great respect for Efes. Many players are my players, and we made history in European basketball. But now we are on separate paths and I will do everything on the court to send my team to the Final Four."
Lorenzo Brown, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens guard
"[We can stop Efes by] just being us. That's the way we can do it, coming out and being physical from the start of the game. Doing what we need to do win the rebounding game, and also points as well. Two very experienced teams, high-level players. It's going to be a battle, for sure. I'm always ready for what's coming. This league is full of great players and Efes is one of those teams with a number of great players on their team, so it's not going to be an easy matchup. Elijah Bryant has been playing tremendous this year and Shane [Larkin] is always going to be Shane. They have many other pieces, too. Just got to pay attention to the details on our end, study film and play our game."
Luca Banchi, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach
"We are very excited to approach this playoff series against the defending champion, Panathinaikos. There are many reasons that make the playoffs special. Of course, Anadolu Efes is back in the playoffs after two years. We arrive after eight wins in a row that made our path unique and we will face a basketball icon of Anadolu Efes and in general Turkish basketball, Coach Ataman, and a team full of talent. Starting from the best scorer in the competition Kendrick Nunn, but having so much talent and so much possibility to represent a danger for every team. Panathinaikos - despite finishing third in the regular season - still represents probably the main candidate for the title. But on the other hand, we want to approach this series conscious and confident that what we've built, especially in the last month, is something that has to represent a point of reference for our performances. So I really hope our players arrive at this appointment healthy and confident because we would like to transform this series at the peak of our season in terms of the quality of basketball we will show on the court starting from the first two games in such a special atmosphere like OAKA. Tickets are sold out since the day Panathinaikos qualified for the playoffs. But I'm pretty sure that we will respond in the right way in such a special atmosphere."
Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard
"Panathinaikos is obviously a great team with championship pedigree, champion coach and experienced players. They also have one of the best fan bases in the league. If we want to compete at a high level and give ourselves a chance to win there, we have to remain focused and disciplined. Hustle plays and winning the small details will be the key."