Playoffs
Game 1
Playoffs
eliminatorias b
AS MonacoASM
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Maccabi Playtika Tel AvivMTA
eliminatorias b
Overview
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Oded Kattash, Maccabi: 'We knew it was going to be a battle'
Artículo
3 Min lectura
Oded Kattash, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv head coach
"I am very proud of the guys. We did a very good job, especially defensively. We knew it was going to be a battle. We kept them only to 6 offensive rebounds. We controlled their running game. We put a lot of effort. I am really proud of the guys, but it is only the first one. Any game is really important. You saw the game – it is going to be a fight all the way until the end. It is not going to be easy.
"As you saw, it was a really intense and aggressive game, so obviously I am very proud of our players. The way we approached this game, I can say we matched their aggressiveness, controlled the defensive rebounds, which is the main goal for us: to stop their running game. Even though we struggled sometimes against their defense, which was very aggressive, we won the game through defense, obviously, so I am very happy. That's about it. We have [an advantage of] 1-0, but as you saw, it is going to be a battle all the way until the end. It is not going to be easy in two days."
Sasa Obradovic, AS Monaco head coach
"We have to put this behind us – it's the playoffs. We didn't play good. We were too nervous to play on a high level. We have to forget it, learn from this and go for the next one. There are still a lot of games to play.
"First, congrats to Maccabi. They deserved to win today. We were somehow mentally not ready to play this one. We were too hectic. We wanted to end up the game fast. There were some shots which we had to score, which we did score, but somehow they took us out of our comfort zone to shoot well. They were much more physical than us and, as I said, with all this, if you just hit a couple of threes, probably the game would be different, because we were there. Defensively, we were OK until a certain moment, but this three-point shooting percentage, even open shots, plus the turnovers – 7 in the third quarter – costed us easy points on the fastbreak and probably ended the game. We have to forget this and look forward. I believe that the next one is going to be different."
Josh Nebo, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv center
"It is going to be a very physical series. Both teams want to win, so we are going to expect it to be even more physical and tougher going into Game 2. For us, to win the series, we had to win one game on the road because they had the home-court [advantage]. For us, to have any chance, we had to win at least one [in Monaco], so I am glad we got it done today. They lost on their home court, but that doesn't mean the series is won. They can easily win in our place, so we have to stay focused, stay hungry and keep going like we did today."
Wade Baldwin, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv guard
"It is good to take the first game, but this is a well-polished team. They went to Game 5 last year against Olympiacos and it is [just] one game. We have another one on Thursday that we have to take care of. We have to prepare for [it] and continue to fight. You are planning against a Monaco team that came off [winning] the French Cup. It is the first game of the EuroLeague finals [playoffs] away. We had a bad record away all year, but to come out with this win is big. But we have Thursday's game."