Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Round 12 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.
Pregame quotes hub: 'For me it's just another game'
Article
8 Mins read
Friday, November 29
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (18:45 CET)
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach
"Milan is in excellent shape. They are offensively playing great basketball, helped a lot by the signing of Nico Mannion. Small lineups are something that is really working, they are scoring a lot of points and it will be a very difficult game, especially on the defensive end. At the same time, we need to keep improving our game and continue getting better."
Nigel Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul forward
"Milan is a very good team. It is going to be a very hard game. We need to come out and do our best for 40 minutes."
Ettore Messina, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan head coach
"We are about to face a team that was capable to win many games despite some injuries. They have a very physical defense and offensively are dangerous both with the low post game and off pick and roll situations. Moving the ball on offense and controlling the rebounds on defense will be necessary to build ourselves the chance to win the game against an obviously good team."
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. FC Bayern Munich (20:00 CET)
--
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. AS Monaco (20:15 CET)
Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach
"We know that Monaco is a very good team, especially offensively. They have extremely good perimeter players, like us, so [they have] a little bit the same kind of roster as Panathinaikos. It's obvious that we need to play good defense against them, especially on their perimeter players to stop their scorers. Spanoulis is a great coach, a great personality. I believe that he will give all of his personality to Monaco. And of course, for us, it's very dangerous because he knows Panathinaikos very well, the players, and I am sure that he will make a good job in his first season in the EuroLeague. He was the one of the best players ever in EuroLeague history. And I believe that for the future, he will be one of the best coaches in the EuroLeague, too. So all the best to him, and I hope that he will have a very good season, of course, after tomorrow."
Ioannis Papapetrou, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens forward
"They are a very talented team with significant offensive capabilities and dangerous guards. Their game begins from there. Obviously, with the change of coach, all teams gain extra motivation. Coach Spanoulis, in my opinion, is an excellent fit for this role and has already shown great promise. Certainly, he will have time to introduce a few elements to their game, but not enough to fully instill his philosophy. What’s most important is that they will attempt to turn around their recent results with the arrival of the new coach. We need to be very prepared to impose our own rules because we are playing at home. I believe we can face any opponent as equals. Especially when we play on our home court, we aim to win. Obviously, I think Coach Spanoulis will bring some principles to their game, especially on defense, giving them better direction. We must focus on our own game, in our own arena, in front of our fans. We’ve started several games somewhat sluggishly, slowly. Clearly, we cannot afford to do that against any team in the EuroLeague. We need to be more focused, avoid relaxing, and stay ready from the first to the last second, regardless of the opponent. I believe we are working well, improving, and we will deliver a very good performance tomorrow."
Vassilis Spanoulis, AS Monaco head coach
"I know the EuroLeague and I know a lot of the players here. After a very good discussion with the president and the GM, it was a very good decision for me to come to Monaco. I talked to the guys about what we can do and where we want to go. We have very little time to prepare for this first match, and the mental aspect will be important. As a coach it doesn't matter much [starting at OAKA], it's just an interesting aspect for the media. I've played so many games there, also as a coach with Peristeri. It appeals to a lot of people, that's normal, but for me it's just another game. We have to be ready, to play at the highest possible level."
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (21:00 CET)
Tomislav Mijatovic, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach
"We are very excited to open up the new EuroLeague game and play against a very talented offensive team after a long break that we had due to national team games. We are very excited and of course we know that we have to play against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at their home court very well concentrated and very aggressive. We must control the tempo of the game and have tremendously high individual responsibility due to the fact that they have great offensive minded players on all positions and very experienced players on most of the positions. Therefore we have to use and present our A-game both offensively and defensively in order to reach our goal which is to win the game."
Justus Hollatz, Anadolu Efes Istanbul guard
"I think it's gonna be a tough game. Last season we had a really hard game there. I think we have to come out with the right energy, right mentality and control their guards like Nando De Colo and Theo Maledon. It is going to be a hard game, but we'll be ready for it."
Thursday, November 28
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (19:00 CET)
Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris Kaunas head coach
"I feel like this game is a crucial game for us. Our goal is to translate the effort and the great game that we had against PAO, [but] against Baskonia. These games are always very tricky. They are struggling and we are coming with good vibes. It is a good moment, we played a very, very good game. I don't want my team to think, even for a split second, that it will be easier. It will be a lot more tougher than PAO. PAO, with that roster and being the reigning champion, piques your sense of urgency right away. It's easy. You see [Kendrick] Nunn, Lorenzo Brown, [Kostas] Sloukas... All great players, champions. Now we need to reproduce the same kind of effort, with even more concentration and more discipline. I don't see the same fire in the eyes of my players, so it is a very complicated game."
Pablo Laso, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz head coach
"It's an arena with a great atmosphere. A place that is crazy for basketball. In Lithuania, basketball is followed by lots of people and [Zalgiris] has a number of important Lithuanian players, like [Edgaras] Ulanovas, [Lukas] Lekavicius, [Arnas] Butkevicius, [Ignas] Brazdeikis... players who are well known. They have some players who are stars – [Lonnie] Walker is a star. They've signed a player who other teams were looking at in the market, but in the end they were able to sign him. There's Sylvain Francisco, who I had last year at Bayern. He plays very well in the one on one. [Bryant] Dunston, a player with a lot of experience in the EuroLeague. We know that a tough arena to go to and a tough team to beat."
Kamar Baldwin, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz guard
"It's not easy, but it's the situation we're in right now. We just have to continue to work, continue to grow together as a team, and play team basketball. It'll start working its way out and we'll start winning. It's definitely tough losing Tim [Luwawu-Cabarrot], it's tough losing anybody. Everybody plays an important role on this team, so we're definitely going to miss him. But guys have just got to step up, continue to play the right way and just play team basketball."
ALBA Berlin vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (20:00 CET)
Israel Gonzalez, ALBA Berlin head coach
"Thanks to Coach Kattash, Maccabi is a very well-coached team with strong tactics. We have to adapt to our opponents' strong defense and give our all to get our offense going and concentrate on our defense at the same time."
Ziga Samar, ALBA Berlin guard
"We're expecting a tough game against a defensively strong team from Tel Aviv. We're preparing very thoroughly for the game and want to be at our best from the very first second and set the tone."
Oded Kattash, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv head coach
"Our goal is to have a good practice, recover from the trip, and be ready for a very unique style of game by ALBA. This is a team that plays very fast, a team with a lot of movement, and a good offensive rebound team. We must stay focused all the time. There are no easy games, and we need to be very focused to win here."
David DeJulius, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv guard
"One of the keys to the game is to get some momentum and play together on both ends. They're a pretty fast-paced team, up there with Paris. I think they're one and two. We've just got to stop them in transition off of misses, be the first ones out, especially as the point guard to kind of stop their transitions. And then from there, kind of build out our defense from the half-court situation."
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (20:30 CET)
Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade head coach
"Olympiacos is a team built with big ambitions, as always. They’ve brought in some exceptional players, while keeping the core of the team intact, along with their coach. Their philosophy has remained largely unchanged, and they play exceptionally well. They are the second most efficient team in the EuroLeague, which speaks volumes about their performance on both offense and defense. We’re expecting an extremely challenging game, and we’ll need to play at a high level if we want to stay competitive for the full 40 minutes."
Isiaha Mike, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade forward
"In the next game, I expect another tough battle. Every round in the EuroLeague is challenging, and we need to be prepared. Last week's victory gives us a solid foundation to build on, and get another win."
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach
"There is no doubt that Partizan’s home court is a tough environment for Olympiacos to play at. We know that they see us more or less like Red Star's brothers. Last season we won there in a tough game, and in order to do the same tomorrow we must put in a huge effort on both ends. We trust our team. If we follow our game plan and we stick together, we can make it."
Nigel Williams-Goss, Olympiacos Piraeus guard
"It's a tough place to play. Obviously they've got great fans and they feed off that, they play well at home. It's always difficult, but I think as a competitor, you love those environments – and me especially. Obviously you would like to be at full strength every time out, but that's not the reality of the season. We have a great team, we have a very deep team, and we're confident in anyone we put on the floor. Although we miss those guys [Sasha Vezenkov and Moses Wright], we've got full confidence in the guys who are playing. Like I said, we are confident we can get the job done. I like where we are right now, we have great momentum, but it's a long season and you've just got to take it one game at a time and try to keep improving throughout the season."
Paris Basketball vs. Virtus Segafredo Bologna (20:30 CET)
Luca Banchi, Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach
"Paris Basketball is going through a moment of excellent health and has shown that it can put forward its system even at a higher level, playing high-tempo basketball combined with effective game organization. We want to produce a very solid contest, controlling their pace and trying to limit mistakes that could trigger their open court play. We will need great physical and mental toughness so as to divert the contest to rhythms more suited to our characteristics."
Isaia Cordinier, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard
"A really tough game awaits us. Paris is one of the hottest teams in the EuroLeague. We will have to be focused on defense, control their guards, their fast pace, be aggressive and fight on every possession. We believe we are very close to turning our season around and what we want to do."
FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (20:45 CET)
Joan Penarroya, FC Barcelona head coach
"It's always a special game, different, and often it doesn't matter how good your form is. It means a lot and the players are looking forward to this game. They are a powerful opponent, who, although they are not where they always are in the standings, are dangerous. [The reason for signing Raul Neto is that] we needed a player to complement [Tomas] Satoransky and [Juan] Nunez. He is a proven player, with experience, who has suffered an unfortunate injury, but he is still an important playmaker, with an extensive career and knowledgeable about FIBA basketball. Physically, these first few days we have seen that he is quite well, and he is ready to play tomorrow."
Raul Neto, FC Barcelona guard
"First of all due to the type of game it is, I understand the importance of a game against Real Madrid. But the last couple of days have been about me integrating into the group, train, understand the plays... I think that personally, I put all of my energy in integrating into the team. I know that it is a very long season, but I also understand the importance of this game. If I can play in this game there's no better way for me to start, in a Clásico like this."
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"FC Barcelona is always a great opponent, regardless of who is coaching them or which players are on their roster. Barcelona will always be in the top positions in both the Endesa League and the EuroLeague because they are also very competitive and have players of great caliber, with a lot of pride, who always want to give their best. They play very fluidly on offense, they are a team that shoots extraordinarily well from the outside, and their centers know exactly what their role is. I think they have put together a really good team and I think we will see a great game between two teams that always want to improve."
Mario Hezonja, Real Madrid forward
“Barcelona knows what they do and where they are at the moment. They are a very physical team and I think that, above all, the first thing we have to take into account is their offensive rebounding, which is very powerful. We know each other better now and you can see that we play more together. The team works differently, much better, but we must not be satisfied and we have to keep moving forward because we still have a lot of room for improvement. So far this season, both teams have a similar win-loss record in all competitions, but tomorrow's game starts 0-0 and for us it is very important because a win would allow us to move up in the standings."
