Vincent Poirier, Real Madrid: 'It was time to play tough'
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"It was a similar game [to our Round 27 game against Baskonia] because they scored again 15 threes, and it is not easy to play against this success from the line. But anyway, we were consistent. We played with confidence in the end and it was the difference, probably, compared to Tuesday. It was much more difficult [to play against Valencia], for sure, because they know us much better. We know them, too, but they know us. It is the fourth time that we have played against Valencia this year. It is not easy to play against them once again.
"It was the game we expected: tough and difficult. It is the fourth game we've played against Valencia this season and we know them well. Valencia has very good players, it is a very deep team. You cannot count them out, because they always get back into the game. When we started to play defense with more continuity, we managed to open a gap at halftime, which vanished soon after that, right after we came back from the locker rooms, because we once again forgot to play defense. We did it again, got back into the game by playing the right way and I think we did very well on offense, attacking their switching defenses, reading their defense well. We shot over 70% from two-point range, which says a lot about our offense. They stayed in the game thanks to their outside shots. They are a team that hit a lot of three-pointers, with good percentages. They have very good three-point shooters. They scored 15 three-pointers; once again, we gave up a lot of threes, just like on Tuesday. Exactly the game, but the PIR difference is very big. Obviously, you don't play to get a high PIR, but for the final score. We added one more win, were able to pull off an important game, and get another win in such a difficult competition as the EuroLeague. That allow us to be in the upper spots in the standings. Like I said, I know it would be a very difficult game because Valencia is fighting to get to the playoffs and made things hard for us, but I am very happy for being able to get this win tonight."
Alex Mumbru, Valencia Basket head coach
"We tried, and we need to continue working hard. We know we've had four losses in a row, but we are fighting [to win] the next one.
"It was a game in which the first half was clearly [going the way of] Real Madrid. They had a better start and hit many three-point shots, sometimes due to our mistakes. We outscored by 5 points them in the second half, but it was not enough. We fought until the end and made it a close game. Congratulations to Real for the win. We tried to fight until the end, even when we allowed some important [offensive] rebounds after playing good defense, which would have get us closer in the game. The next EuroLeague game is against Fenerbahce at home, and we will be ready for it. Jaime [Pradilla] will be out long term, we don't know how long for. Without Kyle [Alexander] and Jaime, our frontcourt struggles. It is a second game in which we have allowed a high two-point shooting percentage, both in the first and second half. We lack Kyle's intimidation [factor]. We did well at times, but we're allowing too many points and, above all, not getting some rebounds, which tells us that our big men are important. I think 'Dubi' [Bojan Dubljevic] and 'Papi' [Jasiel Rivero] did well, but we missed some power in the paint."
Gabriel Deck, Real Madrid forward
"I think we did a great job. We were focused in the second half and dominated the rebounds, playing really well. So, we are very happy about this victory."
Vincent Poirier, Real Madrid center
"You know, it was time to play tough. It is a good team, they play hard, so we had to execute our game plan and play hard, too, in our home."
Walter Tavares, Real Madrid center
"We knew it was going to be difficult against a really tough team that can beat you anywhere. I think we were out of focus in the third quarter, but we managed to recover and were able to get the win. Every win counts, and we have to keep adding them and win as many games as possible. We reacted after the loss against Baskonia, which was not easy. Double-round weeks are always a bit hard in terms of physicality and freshness to take decisions, and we missed that. Valencia is great team and they make you pay for every mistake you make. They are an unpredictable team that always makes things hard for us. In the EuroLeague, it is very important to win as many home games as possible."