The week's opening tip-off will see red-hot Monaco (5-2) aim for a sixth straight win against an Efes team (3-4) that hopes last week's victory over Zalgiris proves to be the start of a renaissance.
Erdem Can, Efes: 'We must find our rhythm'
Seasons
3 Mins read
There are stars galore in the backcourt as Mike James (18.6 ppg., 5.4 apg.) and Elie Okobo (10.1 ppg., 3.4 apg.) go up against Shane Larkin (13.1 ppg., 5.7 apg.) and Darius Thompson (11.6 ppg., 3 apg.). Monaco is the league's second most-accurate three-point shooting team (39%), helped by Alpha Diallo draining 6 triples on 9 attempts against ASVEL last week. Efes will hope for another strong performance from Derek Willis, who posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in Round 7.
Sasa Obradovic, Monaco head coach
"Anadolu Efes have a lot of talent at the back, both individually and collectively. They're top-class players who know what it takes to win games like these. One of the challenges of this match will be to contain their onslaught. This Efes team has experience of the biggest games in the EuroLeague, and they expect this kind of encounter. Of course, they've lost games they shouldn't have, so they're all the more motivated. It's going to be a very tough game. The six-game winning streak in the EuroLeague? It's like the string of defeats at Anadolu: at the start of a match, it's not the series that counts, but what's going to be produced on the court."
Erdem Can, Efes head coach
"We are in a double-game week and we will play these two games on the road. Both teams we will play against this week are serious opponents especially at their home courts. AS Monaco won its last five games while EA7 Emporio Armani Milan got a valuable victory last week. We must find our rhythm..."
Mam Jaiteh, Monaco player
"It’s going to be a big game and we're going to play to our strengths, with our confidence. At home, we need to use that strength. Anadolu's current form makes them all the more dangerous. They can beat anyone at any time. We're not looking at their ranking, it's up to us to be there, that's the most important thing. We need to focus on ourselves. We're taking it game after game, and our first opponent is ourselves. We're going to make sure we're ready and give it our all. Everyone's individual contribution will make the big Monaco we're hoping for, the collective work that makes us so hard to beat."
Ante Zizic, Efes player
"We are going into a double-game week in which we will face two tough teams on the road. AS Monaco and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan are both well playing and disciplined teams. They play good basketball especially at home in front of their fans. We are working hard and we know how high our potential is. In the first game in Monaco, if we play our own game, stick into our game plan and be tough in defense against their guards especially, I believe that we can win this game and gain self confidence for the second game of the week."