By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid‘s coach Pablo Laso and players Felipe Reyes, Gustavo Ayon and Andres Nocioni analyzed the Euroleague premiere against Olympiacos.
The Whites’ coach warns of the difficulty of the opponent: “Since the final in London what I’ve liked about them is that they have maintained an identity in their play. They are very clear in what they want, it is a very competitive team and I know that to beat them we will have to play very well. I think if you’re not at a high level you cannot beat them because they are always very competitive. They never give up and they are a difficult team to beat due to their excellence. To beat Olympiacos is like climbing 8,000 steps because it seems you have to beat them three times in a game.”
“It’s a team that keeps the hallmarks of previous seasons. It has four or five quality players with Spanoulis the standout player, but they also have Green, Mantzaris, Lojeski and Hackett. They are very versatile players and then they have a lot of players in forward positions and strong centers such as Papanikolaou, Printezis or Milutinov.”
Of course, he was asked to comment on the new Euroleague: “I like this format. Firstly because the fans can get to see all the teams and then it’s only fair for teams because you are going to face everyone. If you want to enter the Top 8 you’ll have to be amongst the best eight in a regular league. The competition will be as tough and demanding as ever and you will have options in every game but not too clearly”.
Real’s first objective for the season is the Top 8 in Euroleague: “When you start this competition and look at the opponents, the first thing is to qualify for the playoff. From there, be the first four and take advantage of home court in the next round. We have been thorough this in previous years but we must go step by step and all that worries me now is Olympiacos“.
“We knew we needed to have a balanced squad this season with players who could play in different positions and try to add more players because last year we had injuries and had to go in to the market and ended up having a squad of 15 players, which I think was key to being competitive in all competitions.”
The players commented on the game against Olympiacos.
Reyes: “It’s a very tough team that plays very physically. We want to start the competition well. We play at home and home games will be important when it comes to qualifying. In addition, we have our fans to help us a lot and when things get complicated they are always there.”
Nocioni: “It’s a special competition and we all want to play in it. We are anxious to start against a great team like Olympiacos. It is a new format and everyone has to adapt it. What we have to do is compete. We are in good shape and hopefully it will be a good year for us.”
Ayon: “We are very excited to start a new season in the Euroleague. All the matches will be very interesting for the fans. Olympiacos is a team that always requires you to give a little more and you cannot lose concentration.”