This is what the protagonists had to say after the Round 31 showdown between Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid.
Post-game quotes: Efes vs. Madrid
Ergin Ataman, head coach, Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"First of all, I think this was very important for us, because more than 15,000 supporters helped us so much to come back, especially in the last quarter. We improved the defense; we stole the ball; we improved the tempo. As I said at halftime, we needed to improve the tempo, because Real Madrid played slow-down, they made switches, and we needed to steal some balls. We needed to play aggressive. Finally, in the last quarter, we were successful to do this. Also, [Real] played a great game, especially [Thomas] Heurtel, Gabriel Deck. They scored incredible shots. [Guerschon] Yabusele made a lot of three-pointers, but finally we found a way to win the game."
Pablo Laso, head coach, Real Madrid
"A close game, like we saw. I think we played very solid in certain moments. But in the end it was about late decisions. They hit important shots in the end, and they won the game."
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Vasilije Micic, guard, Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"I said at halftime: the energy must be on the highest level. Higher, actually, because the way we play is always going to be the same. Offensively, we are a very talented team. We have a lot of scores, everything, all kinds of weapons, but defensively we have to put the energy. I think it's been quite a long time that we've been 50-50, wondering which games we were going to play or not, but now I think it's definitely time to put our hearts on the court in every single game. In the second half, we were much better. In the fourth quarter, very good. Still they scored, but I would say that each basket they scored was really difficult for them. We made them work. We made them think about the ball, about everything, so congrats to my teammates and also to Real's players.
Adrien Moerman, forward, Anadolu Efes Istanbul
"I am so tired. It's a great win. [Real] was dominating untin the 38th minute. We never gave up. This is the attitude right now. We need to fight like this. We started the game very bad. Real played very good basketball. In the end, we stepped up, you know. Our defense was great. We fought. Everybody was on the rebounds and fastbreaks. This is great for us. All players contribute and this is what we need."
Gabriel Deck, forward, Real Madrid
"We missed a few open shots that all game we had been making. We couldn't score in the final minutes. But all things considered, I think we did a good job on a very difficult court against a very tough team. We have to think about our work and what we did well, correct what we didn't and keep going forward. We were intense from the first minute until the end. We did a good job passing the ball and finding the open player."