Check out what the coaches and players are saying ahead of Round 18 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague season
Pregame quotes, Round 18: 'Facing Sylvain Francisco is a test'
Articolo
8 Minuto di lettura
Tuesday, December 23
Dubai Basketball vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (17:00 CET)
Jurica Golemac, Dubai head coach
"They are a team that is playing very smart with a lot of experience and a lot of quality. They have a lot of players from last year, too. Like always, we need to be very focused and we need to make it difficult for them. Hopefully the fans are going to give us energy to play intense and energetic basketball on both sides to keep the W at home."
Klemen Prepelic, Dubai guard
"We are facing a very experience team that lately have been in good form. They've had a couple of very good wins. As I always say, we are playing at home and we are in good form as well. We had a huge win in Istanbul, so we are trying to build on that win tomorrow in front of our fans. They punish every mistake and they have a couple of really good shooters, so we need to contain that by getting the defensive rebounds and easy baskets."
Peppe Poeta, Milan head coach
"Dubai is going through a good stretch of games, won three of the last four games and has a lot of offensive potential and very versatile big men. For us, the kind of job we will be able to make over McKinley Wright, who's their primary creative player, will be crucial along the ability to keep their talented scorers to go off too much."
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. FC Barcelona (18:45 CET)
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce head coach
"We're playing against the hardest team in the EuroLeague right now. They are playing very good basketball. Huge improvements defensively and so much experience. Especially on the outside players, you know, with [Tomas] Satoransky, [Kevin] Punter, [Nico] Laprovittola, [Dario] Brizuela, who can decide the games by themselves. And one of the best coached team in the EuroLeague for sure."
Talen Horton-Tucker, Fenerbahce guard
"We just have to come out focused. Just being able to capitalize off the last EuroLeague win is something that we need to do. Knowing that they just came in as a harder and experienced team. I know they're going to play hard and not make too many mistakes. So we have to force them to play the way that we want to play. My message to our fans? Bring the energy because we're gonna need it."
Xavi Pascual, Barcelona head coach
"[Fenerbahce] is the reigning champion, an extraordinary team with a very deep roster, very well coached, as we all know, and a major force in Europe. Both teams will do a lot of defensive work and try to control the opponent’s strengths – that’s guaranteed – and on offense we’ll also try to attack their weaknesses. So I think it will be an interesting game in that sense, both for spectators and for fans who enjoy following games from a tactical perspective. The team is working very well, with a strong desire to win, very focused on doing things right, and putting in a lot of physical effort. Along the way we’ve had three injured players – well, actually four. We haven’t gotten Lapro back 100% yet. Jan [Vesely] helped us a little yesterday, but he’s still not fully fit, and we’re still without Will [Clyburn] and Toko [Shengelia]. So clearly the physical toll has been significant, but as long as the results keep coming, it’s always worth it."
Miles Norris, Barcelona forward
"The vibes are good here. Everyone's locked in, everyone's really focused in practice and coming into the games. It's always good to get some wins. We've got some momentum with us, so we're just trying to keep it rolling. It should be a fun game tomorrow, crazy atmosphere. We haven't played them yet, but I feel like everyone's focused and locked in for this game tomorrow."
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:00 CET)
Tomas Masiulis, Zalgiris head coach
"A Final Four–caliber team is coming in – a team with a lot of talent and a lot of experience, especially in the backcourt. A very tough challenge awaits us. They definitely lose experience and creativity [with the absence of Kostas Sloukas], but even without him they still have talented and experienced players. Others will step up. You can’t say they’re heavily damaged. Sloukas has been playing very well this season, distributing the ball and making his teammates better, so it is a loss for them to some extent. Every team focuses heavily on [Kendrick Nunn], yet he still averages 20 points. We have ideas, we have plans, and we’ll try to execute them. Tomorrow we’ll see how successful we are."
Ergin Ataman, Panathinaikos head coach
"First of all, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Many people have sent me wishes for some rest, but there is no time to rest. We are flying to Kaunas and we have a tough game ahead of us. Zalgiris, especially at home, plays very aggressively and there is an incredible atmosphere in the arena. It will be a difficult game, but we are in good form. The EuroLeague is strange; many teams are separated by just one win, so this game is very important. Our performance on game day will decide the result. [Kostas Sloukas] is a very important player for us. We have a big roster, we have [Jerian] Grant and [TJ] Shorts, who will get more minutes. We have the roster to manage the situation. I hope [Richaun] Holmes will play. He played very well in the domestic league. We will miss Sloukas, but we have the roster to remain competitive."
TJ Shorts, Panathinaikos guard
"It will be a very tough game. We know their fans, I’m sure it’s already sold out. Very good team, good players. It will be a big battle. Facing [Sylvain] Francisco is a test. It’s not extra motivation; you always want to play well against the best. He’s having a great season. It will be a challenge for us to stop him and make things difficult for him. We are missing a player (Sloukas), so everyone will have to do a little more to fill the gap. Me, [Kendrick] Nunn, [Jerian] Grant – whoever steps on the floor will need to give a little extra for us to get the win."
FC Bayern Munich vs. Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (19:30 CET)
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Valencia Basket vs. Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (20:00 CET)
Pedro Martinez, Valencia head coach
"They are different competitions. I think we shouldn't dwell too much on what happened two weeks ago and be prepared for a very tough game, as all EuroLeague games are. Baskonia is indeed achieving the results it is achieving, which are frankly very good, and obviously they have a team with players of great ability. At home, you feel more comfortable, and we're coming off two losses. First, we need to regain a little confidence from our recent results and, above all, draw energy from our fans. Not only do they have [Timothe] Luwawu-Cabarrot and [Markus] Howard, but they also have other players like [Trent] Forrest and [Kobi] Simmons. They have a very good team, with players who are very capable of scoring in many different ways, with direct blocks and indirect blocks. They're a very physical team, with big players inside who are very good, and it's obviously going to be a very difficult game.”
Paris Basketball vs. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (20:45 CET)
Sasa Obradovic, Crvena Zvezda head coach
"I know the Paris team very well from my time coaching in France. It’s clear what style of play they use and what we need to do. If someone is late or falls down, they will always punish you with a three-pointer or an offensive rebound. On the other hand, our rotation is shorter. Even though there is some room for rest, it’s still obvious that the team is dealing with physical issues. January is a tough month – we have to focus both on recovery and on preparing for the opponent, especially for players who play a physically demanding style. It’s good that [Jasiel] Rivero and [Ognjen] Dobric have started training. Rivero has begun activities; when [Joel] Bolomboy arrives, we’ll see what condition he’s in and when he can join team practice. We need to see how he reacts after everything he’s been through. Bolomboy arrives next week, Rivero is working individually, and Dobric has started running – I expect him back in a few days' time."
Devonte' Graham, Crvena Zvezda guard
"We need to stay aggressive, rebound, and control their pressure. We’re taking it one game at a time. These games come with a different kind of pressure. There’s not too much pressure – we just want to win."
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:45 CET)
Pablo Laso, Efes head coach
"LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne is always a dangerous team. They have a lot of physical players and when playing at home, they bring a lot of energy. This is a demanding period for every team, as we are playing many games in a short period of time. That means it's not only about being physically ready, but also about understanding mentally what we are playing for. It's crucial for us to have the right mentality and be prepared physically, because our opponent has many athletes on their roster, good scorers, and players who have played together for many years. We must play our best basketball for 40 minutes."
Isaia Cordinier, Efes guard
"It’s a very important game for us as we want to keep improving and keep going forward. It will be a fight that will require our maximum focus and effort to come back with the win from Lyon."
Friday, December 26
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade vs. Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv (18:00 CET)
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AS Monaco vs. Real Madrid (19:30 CET)
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Virtus Bologna vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (20:30 CET)
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