By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net
Valencia hosts Panathinaikos in Game 5 of the Quarterfinal series (13/5, 21:00 CET) with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Athens.
The coach of the Spanish team Pedro Martínez made sure to name Panathinaikos as the favorite because they had won the first two games of the series at Roig Arena.
“We are preparing as we would for any other game, trying to maintain our usual routines and, as always, adapt to the opponent tactically and as normally as possible. They beat us both times here, and we beat them both times there, by very small margins. It’s not logical to think that the game will be different.
It is logical that this will also be a very close game and, like the first four, it will be decided at the end. I think it will be determined by small details: tactics, the players’ personality, that little bit of precision, finding inspiration, a bit of luck,” Martínez said.
He continued about what Valencia needs to do:
“We need to stay calm, prepare as well as we can, and try to overcome the difficult moments that will likely come. Because Panathinaikos is a very good team and has periods of high productivity.
They have very good long-range shooting, many players capable of playing one-on-one, and so there will be times when you will face many difficulties, and that’s all.”
He added that this is going to be 50-50 game.
“We must try to overcome the difficulties that will arise. At this point, with the balance we’re discussing, it’s a 50-50 game. The home-court advantage is clearly not very significant, as we have seen in the series. I would even say that, if we look at the series, they are the favorites because they managed to win two games here.
We hope to find that spark, that inspiration in that lost ball, in that rebound, which can make the difference. But not in the last minute, from the start of the game, we must think there will be difficulties and that we need to overcome them.“