Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Game 4 of the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs
Playoffs pregame quotes, Game 4: 'We have the formula to beat Olympiacos'
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Thursday, May 1
Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (21:00 CEST)
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"Playing as a team always helps to better understand how to beat an opponent with as many weapons and as good players as Olympiacos. Our intention is to play a good game and that means improving, improving a lot more at all levels, defensively and offensively. We have to think that everything will be more complicated than on Tuesday and that we will have to show a level close to perfection to be able to get another victory."
Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid forward
"It's not easy to win two games in a row against Olympiacos, but we have the formula to play against them and be able to win. We are talking about a great team with a magnificent coach, but we also have our weapons. The way to get another victory is to be together, fight together and be ready to play another final. We want to keep fighting."
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach
"There are a few things we're thinking of changing. We need to be more aggressive on defense from the very first second, because afterward we had a good second quarter. It was a game with a lot of physical contact, a lot of basketball 'battles'. Real Madrid played in the second half in a way that pushed us out of our comfort zones. And we didn’t execute well offensively. We hope to have [Evan] Fournier with us as well. It was a game that was decided in the details. It's expected that Real would play for their lives. But the shooting percentages are usually similar in this type of game – what matters most is possessions. That means stealing the ball, getting more rebounds, avoiding turnovers, and executing the game plan with focus and self-control."
Nikola Milutinov, Olympiacos Piraeus center
"We have to play much better than we did in Game 3. We weren’t strong enough. They were much tougher than us; they played with a lot more physicality. We made mistakes, gave the ball away too many times, and they scored easy points from that. If you want to beat Real in Madrid, you have to play with more focus and be more physical, because they’re a very good team."
Friday, May 2
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:30 CEST)
Luca Banchi, Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach
"Game 3 was very tough, very tight. And this time we really wish to have the capacity to direct the game towards to us. There are some details to adjust and correct when you play such a level of basketball and such a level of opponents – every detail can really matter. So we really hope to offer a great performance and together with the support of our fans take the win. We really hope and need to extend the series to Game 5."
Ercan Osmani, Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward
"We are going the play the fourth game of the series and unfortunately we lost our first home game in the series. But now we must forget this game and tie the series again. We have the power to do this, without a doubt. Both teams are so strong and know each other very well. The results of such high-level games are determined by small details. We must be very well concentrated for this game. We must not repeat the mistakes we made and must be ready to fight for 40 minutes. With the support of our fans, I believe that we will be the winning team at the end of the game."
Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos ATKOR Athens head coach
"Now it's only 2-1 and we saw once again that Efes is a very dangerous team. They play very aggressive basketball, they play with double team, triple defense against our scorers – against [Kendrick] Nunn, against [Kostas] Sloukas. We need to find scoring from different players, like in Game 3 we found scoring from [Konstantinos] Mitoglou, but of course we need to score much better, also our perimeter players. It will be difficult, the series will continue. Nothing is guaranteed, just that we have the advantage to lead the series 2-1. Game 4 will be a tough game, we will try to win. Every game is very difficult against them."
Omer Yurtseven, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens center
"We're aware that they're going to come out swinging – their backs are against the wall. But I think knowing that, we have been coming in really ready these last three games. We've had 10-point leads, 12-point leads going into the fourth quarter in all three games, I think. Once we figure out what that glitch is, the fourth quarters should be good for us as well."
FC Barcelona vs. AS Monaco (20:45 CEST)
Kevin Punter, FC Barcelona guard
"Obviously it's a must-win for us. The only thing on our mind is to win on Friday. Staying focused and locked in, coming with a game plan, and just ready to go to war. It's going to be a dogfight, but we've got to be focused if we want to win the game."
