Virtus Segafredo Bologna center Mam Jaiteh is this season's 7DAYS EuroCup MVP, but before he reflects on his breakout season, the big man has another job to do.
Mam Jaiteh, Virtus: 'We need to go and get it'
Interviews
8 Mins read
Jaiteh leads the competition in PIR per 40 minutes (32.9), ranks fourth in rebounds (7.6 rpg.) and fifth in both two-point shooting (71.1%) and average PIR (18.1). However, the only numbers that matter to him now are the final score in the championship game against Frutti Extra Bursaspor on Wednesday. Like Virtus, the game will be his first final and Jaiteh said he believes it is a chance to achieve the goal his team set right at the beginning of the season. "From the day I signed with Virtus, the first talk with the coaches and the staff was that we needed to get the EuroCup and go to the EuroLeague. So we can reach our number one priority, the number one goal," Jaiteh said after his team's semifinals win against Valencia Basket. "We have to focus on who we are going to be playing against and how we are going to try to beat them."
Hello, Mam. Congratulations on a historic win for Virtus. You held Valencia to just 73 points at La Fonteta. Was your defense the key to making it to the final?
"Yeah, for sure. Defense was a big key for us. We played against them three times and I think our coaching staff did a very good job of knowing how to attack them, how to use our defense as the big key to just stop them. They have a lot of talent and we are very proud of what we have done as a team."
Virtus lost in the 7DAYS EuroCup Semifinals last season. How important is it to take this step forward and challenge for the title?
"Virtus Bologna is a very ambitious and very hungry team. We are very proud and happy with this win tonight, but we still haven't reached our goal. So we are going to celebrate tonight, but we're going to be focused on next week because this is our ultimate goal. We need to go and get it."
"I'm coming from the bottom. I can say that every year for me was a step forward."
You are playing some of the best basketball of your career. How great is it to be playing at this level after so many years in basketball?
"I am very proud. I think I was always working very hard, always trying to get better at what I can do and be more efficient for my team. And I think I am playing this way because I am trying to have fun, understand all my teammates and help my team as much as I can. So like I said, I'm very proud. I need to keep getting better and keep helping my team as much as I can."
Virtus is the best team you have played for. Do you think that having better teammates has also helped you to play better this season?
"Before I even talk about my teammates, these are very great men, with great character and great behavior. So playing in such a great atmosphere... there is nothing more I could ask for. It is very competitive but also very healthy, I can say. So for me, I am just coming there every day, working hard and like I said, helping everyone as much as I can and playing as efficiently as I can."
For a center, playing with Milos Teodosic must be a great experience. Have you gotten used to his passing and ready to get the ball at any time?
"We never get used to playing with Milos Teodosic! There is always something new coming from his pocket! But I can say that I am always trying to be ready, basically. I am trying to always be in the right position, always having my eyes and my hands ready. It is all about being smart and playing the right way and then it becomes automatic. He has helped me a lot."
Ekpe Udoh was expected to be the team's starting center, but was injured in the preseason and you stepped up to lead the frontcourt. How difficult was that?
"He is having a big career and I am pretty sure he is going to come back ready. For me, it was more that every year, I am getting better and what I had inside of me, I was able to show it more. I am just happy to help the team with what I can do and be a plus for this team."
You will play against Frutti Extra Bursaspor in the final. You faced each other twice this season. What is the best thing about Bursaspor? What do you think put them where they are right now?
"I think Bursaspor is a team that has a big character. They are very solid. What they have done, for me, is history already, and I think they really deserve to be there. Nobody was expecting them to be there, but nobody gave them anything. They went out and got it and that is a big, big plus for them. They are going to come to our gym with nothing to lose. They have so much confidence, too. So it is going to be a very, very difficult game. We expect a very strong game because they have players who are big competitors, but also very strong. We need to just be even more ready because it can be a trap."
Bursaspor takes a lot of pride in their aggressiveness, calling themselves "The Pitbulls". How critical is it to match this aggressiveness in this game?
"Yes. I think John Holland is one of their key pieces to add, he was the perfect guy for them because of what he brings to the team. Of course, I think that at the same time we stepped up defensively during the season. We need to just confirm this and try to diminish the impact of their main players as much as we can and win as a team because I think that's a team that we all need to contribute to try to diminish their impact. And after this, we need to play our offense."
"We don't have to look at the names in their team, but at what they have done so far."
You started your career in the French second division and worked really hard to get this opportunity. Does it taste sweeter, knowing that you came from the bottom to earn this chance to win the EuroCup?
"Yes, like you said, I'm coming from the bottom. I can say that every year for me was a step forward and I always had to prove that I belonged to this level. Like, every year I was in a situation in which no one knew much about me and I have to prove myself, prove, prove, prove, and this year was the same. So I think that for me, this is like a reward for all these years. I am very proud, but I keep humble and I just try to keep working hard because I want to reach an even higher level and be way better than I am now."
Finally, what would it mean for you and Virtus to not just win the EuroCup, but to make it to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague next season?
"It would mean a lot because this is the number one goal of the team. From the day I signed with Virtus, the first talk with the coaches and the staff was that we needed to get the EuroCup and go to the EuroLeague. So we can reach our number one priority, the number one goal. And being part is this is... I cannot even describe how proud and how big it is. So we will try to focus on how we should beat this big opponent. We don't have to look at the names on their team, but at what they have done so far. It is going to be a big, big game and, like I said, winning the EuroCup is our number one priority. We have to focus on who we are going to be playing against and how we are going to try to beat them."