Here are some insightful comments about the game from the protagonists themselves.
Game 5, pre-game quotes: Barcelona vs. Bayern
Sarunas Jasikevicius, FC Barcelona head coach
"I think the guys understand the situation, understand the demands of this game... It's back to the same: details. We can't give anything away. I believe that the team that gives away fewer gifts and shoots well from outside will take the game and the series... Right now, we're concentrating on the mental and physical freshness of the players. I believe Bayern is going to continue trying to defend the same way. They'll try to clog the lane. It'll be very important to shoot well from outside; it's clear... I believe that one key is that we have to commit our fouls in the right moments, which we haven't been doing well in these situations. Instead, we are making too many fouls on shooters we shouldn't be fouling, and even when we are head, sometimes we continue doing that."
Nikola Mirotic, FC Barcelona forward
"Personally, I see the team very motivated and excited to play this fifth game. We still feel very confident in our game. I believe we have steered the season to where we wanted to be. And now we have to suffer, but we are where we wanted to be, one win away from the Final Four. I ask the fans the same as until now: come to the Palau, be one more player for us, and enjoy it with us... We've spoken in the locker room that we have to play better, obviously, but also that we have to be ourselves and be true to our style of play. This is the message. We can't make dramatic changes at this point, and they aren't necessary anyway. We have to be confident in our game and compete at our maximum for these 40 minutes, and we can't have some of the dips that we've had. We have to go on the court and control the game from the start."
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FC Bayern Munich head coach Andrea Trinchieri:
"We still are the underdog, that hasn’t changed. The question will be whether we can reach the great energy level from Game 4. We will try everything, even though it seems impossible."
FC Bayern Munich player Andreas Obst:
"We will give everything we’ve got, full energy. We had four games against Barcelona in this series and want to take the good things from those games into the next one. We’re playing to win."