Check out what the protagonists are saying ahead of Round 10 of the BKT EuroCup, and who might be missing in action.
Round 10: Pregame quotes and injury reports
Article
8 Minute de lecture
Tuesday, December 3
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca (18:30 CET)
Zvezdan Mitrovic, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana head coach
"Every game is important for us. Cluj is a strong opponent with a great reputation. They had a slower start to the season but have now found their rhythm and are on a winning streak. The team is well-coordinated. We surprised them in Romania in the first round of the competition. I expect a challenging game, especially since Cluj had time to prepare, as they didn’t play in their domestic league, unlike us. We returned to Ljubljana on Sunday from Čačak. We’re trying to prepare well for our opponents and ensure our players are informed about everything. Tuesday’s game will undoubtedly be tougher than the matches against Hamburg and Borac. We need to maintain a good rhythm and respond to all the challenges we’ll face on Tuesday. Our defensive play has definitely reached a higher level after the break. We build our offense from our defense, even if, like against Hamburg, our shooting percentage wasn’t great. On Tuesday, we’re facing players with experience at a higher level, so it will be a tough task. We’re certainly a bit more fatigued than our opponents, so our energy and freshness in defense will be crucial. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
DJ Stewart, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana guard
"We know this will be a tough game, and from the first meeting, we know the kind of game they like to play. We’ve watched videos of their games and created a plan for Tuesday, which we need to follow. We’ll need help from the stands. I invite all fans to join us and cheer us on. After the break, we’ve been playing with a lot of energy. Everyone rested well during the pause. Now we’re back in the gym, working hard, motivated, and determined to win."
Mihai Silvasan, U-BT Cluj-Napoca head coach
"We are ahead of another important game. We have the same record and they won against us in the first game. We want to bounce back, play well and win this one. We need to have the right mindset in order to get a victory. Everybody is healthy, we are full of energy and we are looking forward to playing there and winning the game!"
Adam Mokoka, U-BT Cluj-Napoca guard
"It will be an interesting game, tough for sure. We lost our first game at home against them, so we definitely need this one on the road. It will be a tough match up, they are athletic, they also got our former teammate Andrija Stipanovic. It will be a special feeling about this one, but we have to get the job done."
ratiopharm Ulm vs. Trefl Sopot (19:00 CET)
Andy Van Vliet, Trefl Sopot forward
"They're obviously a really great team, doing well in the German League right now and doing well in the EuroCup. They got us last time. Hopefully we can go over there and get our first win of the season in the EuroCup. It would be big for us. It was a close game last time, so hopefully we can make it a close game again and tip it in our favor."
Dolomiti Energia Trento vs. Dreamland Gran Canaria (20:00 CET)
Jordan Bayehe, Dolomiti Energia Trento center
"For me it will be a special game, because the first game against Gran Canaria was my first game in the EuroCup. On that occasion we had played very well, starting off strong, but then they were able to raise the level and, thanks to a few too many mistakes, we were unable to bring home the win. Gran Canaria is in a very good moment of form and, like us, played on Sunday; therefore, both teams will come to the game with intense rhythms. It will be a very complicated test, but the charge that the victory against Napoli gave us and the warmth of the Trentino crowd will be a fundamental boost to face such a strong and structured team."
Wednesday, December 4
Bahcesehir College Istanbul vs. Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius (17:00 CET)
Alessandro Magro, Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius head coach
"We have to go there and try to compete physically. Bahcesehir is a team that can destroy the flow of the opponents, starting from the defensive side. They have qualities in the offensive players. We need to stay focused, stay together for 40 minutes and not give them the chance to have a run and break during the game. The most important thing from the start of the game is a proper physical and mental approach."
Arnoldas Kulboka, Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius forward
"It will be a very tough game. The Bahcesehir team plays good basketball both in the BKT EuroCup and the Turkish League. They have a great roster, with some players who could easily compete in the EuroLeague. We will try to bounce back after last week’s loss. In Istanbul, we need to play physically and communicate better on defense. We cannot lose focus throughout the entire game."
7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys vs. Turk Telekom Ankara (18:00 CET)
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs. Joventut Badalona (18:45 CET)
Dimitris Itoudis, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv head coach
"We’re facing an opponent that can play in various styles of basketball. They’re extremely well-connected, they have experienced players who are used to competing at the highest level in the EuroLeague, and recently, they managed to beat Real Madrid in the Spanish League. Overall, it's a very demanding game. We are in the process of finding our chemistry and automations in our offensive and defensive game. With all this said, we understand the importance of the game. We are going to fight until the end and compete at the highest level."
Bar Timor, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv guard
"We're heading into the game after an important win in the league, determined to keep the positive momentum going and kick off the second round of the EuroCup on the right track. Badalona is a tough opponent, but our focus is on ourselves and what we bring to the court."
Dani Miret, Joventut Badalona head coach
"In the last few weeks they have made a lot of moves. They have added Yam Madar, a EuroLeague-level point guard. They have Patrick Beverley, who we already know, and now we will find a totally different team, because a new coach like Itoudis has arrived. We must be prepared, play well in a game that will be very difficult. They are one of the teams that will be a very competitive project in the EuroCup, and we must go there and do better than in the last game in Europe."
Injury report, Joventut: Kaiser Gates, Miguel Allen and Michael Ruzic are out.
Aris Midea Thessaloniki vs. Umana Reyer Venice (19:00 CET)
Ioannis Kastritis, Aris Midea Thessaloniki head coach
"It’s a very challenging game with high demands. Reyer seems to be finding their rhythm. [Tyler] Ennis is back, and we all know how important player he is for them. They are a very athletic team, especially at the '3' and inside. Given the absences we will have once again, it will certainly be a highly demanding game. We need to be ready to give more than 100%. In any case, we must be as competitive as possible in one-on-one situations, whether it’s individual defense or fighting for rebounds."
Landers Nolley, Aris Midea Thessaloniki forward
"We want to capitalize on the momentum we’ve built from the big game we played last Sunday. We could have responded either with a win or a loss, but fortunately, we came out victorious. Now, we aim to respond with another win tomorrow."
Neven Spahija, Umana Reyer Venice head coach
"It’s an important game for both teams. They have new players compared to the first leg. Playing in Greece, in front of those fans, is tough for anyone. It’s been a long time since I was last in Thessaloniki, but their support is always a key factor and will put us under great pressure. We must stay on our path, playing solid defense and maintaining pace on offense. This will be our third away game in six days; we’re a bit tired, but we’ve also worked on specific recovery strategies for the players. I believe we’ll continue to play good basketball, but winning there won’t depend solely on us. It will be tough, but as always, we’ll never give up."
Carl Wheatle, Umana Reyer Venice guard
"It will be a tough game for us, in a hostile environment and against a team that needs a win. We want to extend our positive momentum; we’re playing well and are highly motivated to win the game in Thessaloniki. Defense is our key and starting point: if we perform well individually and as a system, we’ll have a better chance of taking the win. On offense, we’ll need patience and ball movement to find our rhythm."
Injury report, Aris: Vassilis Toliopoulos and Lefteris Bochoridis are out for 3-5 weeks with first-degree strains in their calves.
Injury report, Reyer: Xavier Munford (knee) and Juan Manuel Fernandez (thigh) are out; Rodney McGruder (knee) is a game-time decision.
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica vs. Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul (19:00 CET)
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Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse vs. Veolia Towers Hamburg (19:30 CET)
Frederic Fauthoux, Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse head coach
"Hamburg is a team that likes to attack and is gaining strength in the competition, it won't be easy, but the objective is to seek victory at home."
Brandon Paul, Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse guard
"It’s a good team, they are talented and young. Winning against them will be difficult, it's up to us to put in the intensity to get this victory."
Benka Barloschky, Veolia Towers Hamburg head coach
"We saw spikes in the first half of the group stage, which were the games against Ankara and Thessaloniki. Good games at the start against Valencia and Bourg-en-Bresse, in which we showed that we can also pose a challenge to the best teams. But heavy defeats were also part of the picture. Across all the games, it's clear that if we play our basketball for 40 minutes with a full line-up, we're very competitive. That's exactly what we want for the second half of the season. Because I think we have the potential to attack again. We also want to give ourselves this outlook. We have goals that we want to achieve."
Valencia Basket vs. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (20:45 CET)
Pedro Martinez, Valencia Basket head coach
"[I expect a] much harder on defense, on offense we are going to find more difficulties and surely tomorrow we will not play with the three-point shooting percentages we had the other day, or the number of shots we had the other day. I assume that it will be a game more in the mud, with a lower pace, we will not be able to run as much counterattack as the other day, because they will not let us. We have to be prepared for a game with fewer points, surely tomorrow the game will go in a different direction and we have to be prepared for the kind of game we will find. They have improved a lot, they are in a very good dynamic. They are a team that defends very well, very aggressive, they are a fantastic team in the back and then these two players, [Jared] Harper and [Khadeen] Carrington, are really difficult to defend”.
