Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Round 5 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague season
Pregame quotes, Round 5: 'We need to put two good halves together'
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Thursday, October 16
Dubai Basketball vs. FC Barcelona (18:00 CEST)
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Zalgiris Kaunas vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (19:00 CEST)
Ettore Messina, Milan head coach
"We face a Zalgiris team that has been doing very well so far in the competition and on a basketball arena where the home crowd is playing a role. We are coming off a game plagued by very low shooting percentages that eventually doomed our chances. The defensive effort was there, and we need to restart from here. It will be crucial to move the ball better. We are also waiting to know what Lorenzo Brown’s condition will be, since he came out of the Munich game with some problems."
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. FC Bayern Munich (19:45 CEST)
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce head coach
"Bayern is a very physical team that puts a lot of pressure on our players. We need to match that; we need to play in our spots. Basically, we need to fight more, try to take more ball pressure on the other team, more offensive rebounds, and show reaction after a bad performance."
Devon Hall, Fenerbahce guard
"I mean obviously we want to come out and play well. We lost a tough one last night, so we will prepare well and come out to play much better."
Gordie Herbert, Bayern head coach
"The fact that Fener lost on Tuesday is certainly not good for us. It's still early in the season for many teams that had players at the European Championships. Sometimes it takes many weeks. But they are the EuroLeague champions and will be motivated. Just like us after our great team performance against Milan."
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (21:00 CEST)
Oded Kattash, Maccabi head coach
"Olympiacos is another high-level team, well-coached, they got their system. A lot of players that play together for a long time, so they know what they do. We have to come ready, especially after the tough loss that we had [on Tuesday]. We have to match their aggressiveness and their size. I mean, we have to cover it with a lot of concentration and aggressiveness. Also, Olympiacos, we know it’s a second game on a double-week, they're coming after a loss, so it's going to be a battle."
TJ Leaf, Maccabi forward
"We just need more energy, more fight. It kind of got away from us early [against Barcelona]. We know that can't happen again. We just have to come with more urgency, more sense of urgency on both ends of the court. At the end of the day, we just got to fight. X's and O's aside, we just got to have more pride out there. So that's really all there is to it. Obviously, they have a lot of talent. I mean, one of the best players in the EuroLeague. I think it all comes down to, like I said, forget the X's and O's for a minute. And we just have to play with pride, play with heart, play with a lot of fight. And if we do that, I think we'll be fine."
Jimmy Clark, Maccabi guard
"Just building team chemistry, camaraderie, and just playing hard together. That's the only thing I think we need to focus on, just come with some enthusiasm, heart, and integrity for the next game. So as long as we do that, I feel like we'll get the outcome we want. I feel like if we play together, nobody can stop us. Just play together, play hard, and just go out there and leave it all on the court. So I feel like if we can do that for the club, for the team, for each other, will be great."
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos head coach
"There’s some fatigue from the consecutive games, but that’s the case for every team. The game against Maccabi won’t be easy, because as you know, the conditions in Belgrade are always a bit special, playing without fans. We hope to be more consistent than we were yesterday, for longer stretches of the game."
Tyler Dorsey, Olympiacos guard
"We need to put two good halves together. My teammates and I have to play consistently throughout the whole game. We start well, but in the second half we can’t sustain it. We have to watch the film, see what needs to be corrected for the game against Maccabi, and finish games better. I also need to be better in the next one."
Friday, October 17
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Real Madrid (19:00 CEST)
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AS Monaco vs. Valencia Basket (19:30 CEST)
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:30 CEST)
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Virtus Bologna (20:00 CEST)
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Paris Basketball vs. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (20:45 CEST)
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (20:45 CEST)
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