Post-Game Quotes: Cedevita 101-104 Virtus

This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after such a close deal down the stretch.

Regular Season

Round 6 of 18

game Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

Regular Season

group b

Cedevita Olimpija LjubljanaCOL

101104

Virtus Segafredo BolognaVIR

group b

Overview

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w

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Sergio Scariolo, Virtus Segafredo Bologna

"First of all, it is always a pleasure to play in a basketball country like Slovenia. It was probably a fun game to watch, a little bit less for coaches, who were on the sideline watching very good things and a little less good things. But overall, we showed cohesiveness, character, personality. We were very short-handed, of course, as we know, missing so many injured players. And also, I want to thank Alessandro Pajola, who played in a very, very difficult physical condition. He didn't play his best game but given his circumstances, you have to be thankful for the effort he did. We knew that Cedevita is a really good three-point shooting team. In the fourth quarter, I think we adjusted our defense better. We played better and guarded the ball better, so we didn't need too much of a help where they were able to kick the ball out and take those open threes. And we rebounded solid, definitely, in the fourth [quarter]. Then we hit some shots. Unfortunately, we didn't hit free throws. I think we could have managed to get a little bit more relaxed at the very end, but this is a pretty young team and I assume and know that these kinds of things happen and will happen again. But it is a very important win on the road. Every win is important in his high-level EuroCup - on the road even better, even more. I am really, really satisfied with the win. We need to move on and decide what to do with our roster which right now is really, really at the minimum number of active players to be able to compete in two competitions."

Jurica Golemac, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

"Congratulations to Virtus on the win. They played better for these three-pointers and won the game because of their extraordinary quality. The baskets they were scoring were like... I don't know, 20-30 points were like NBA action. But this is their quality and this is what they got. We fought until we had the power and the energy. What we said at the beginning of the game was that what's most important were defensive rebounds. They had 15 [offensive rebounds]. It is hard to box them out, they are very tall and strong. And the other thing is that we had to reduce our turnovers, and those two things could give us some balance, some momentum, and with the home court fans, giving us a lot of energy today, could give us the win. But in the crucial moments, when we had a run, they stopped it with extraordinary solutions. So once again, congratulations to Virtus."

Mam Jaiteh, Virtus Segafredo Bologna

"First of all, I am very, very happy and proud of us and the team for the win because the most important is the win, actually. But we had some injuries and missed some key players, too. I am very proud of the way we reacted, we stepped up, the starters, the ones from the bench. Everybody stepped up and fulfilled their commitments. We still have things to improve but I think this win helped us improve our character and chemistry, to win this kind of game."