Chus Mateo, coach of Real Madrid, considered that it would be a mistake if it was thought that the tie of the Endesa League that will face his team against Baskonia is a duel between him and Pablo Laso, now coach of the rival and with whom he worked during the stage of the latter in the white club.
“Surely there are no secrets among us, because he knows me, Real Madrid is already the players. He will have his approach, his way of seeing him. And we not only have to meet Paul, but we must analyze the players, the team and how he is playing. We would make a mistake if we thought that this is a duel of Pablo against Chus,” he said.
“It is a duel of two talented teams, which play basketball, who are going to fight for a semifinal pass in an event as important as the Endesa League. We have to analyze the rival well, where the possibilities pass in the game, and execute it perfectly. We have to make a very good game to win the Baskonia,” he added.
Mateo defined the rival as “very dangerous” because he has very talent players with “an extraordinary offensive capacity.” Even so, he is confident of asserting the field advantage in a tie to the best of three games, which he considers “dangerous”: “Baskonia is a very offensive team, with a lot of scoring capacity. We have to try to control all their offensive variables; they have many offensive resources, many players with the capacity to overflow their pair, with many possessions.”
“We have to try to control our offensive options, which we also have and we must see. I think it will be a hard, long, matched party, and we will have to have enough patience to make it mature to decant on our side. But without haste, with patience, without anxiety to want to solve it early. The games are won many times in the last minute and you have to be prepared for it,” he said.
The good streak they carry that for many are the favorites to the titles, although he affirms that on the squad they leave it apart: “You have to play games from minute one to the last. If we are able to make a good game we will win and if we are not able, they will win.
In the case of victory, theirs will cross with the Unicaja of Malaga or Barça, although he only wants to think of Baskonia and not take steps: “You don't have to anticipate anything; because the road is done step by step. Sometimes wanting to run more quickly than you can make you lose more the focus of what attention requires.”
Dzanan Musa and Gabriel Deck, during a Real Madrid meeting.
The technician confirmed that the Bosnian forward Dzanan Musa will be available, but that the same will not happen with the Argentine eaves Gabriel Deck, whose presence at some point in the playoffs is in doubt about a hip problem. He also assured that he does not see Hugo González already decentralized Eli John Ndiaye, who could be chosen by NBA teams via Draft.
“It would be phenomenal for them and surely we will continue to make young people work as we are doing and for people to look at them as possible NBA players. Whenever happen we will be happy for it, but we will bother us to lose good players.”
In addition, he talked about the fact that the Euroleague has expanded the number of teams in two more for the next campaign: “I always say that you have to look a little at the players. We love the Euroleague, compete at the highest level. It is fantastic as long as we want the players to stay moderately health playing a lot of games. “
“The demand that exists when wanting to be well at the beginning, in the middle and in the end it will be accepted but I think that in the end everyone wants us to be fine at all times and that is impossible for a player, because they are human beings. Let's not stop thinking that they also breathe, suffer, they are hit, they are damaged. And if we want to see the level very good every day of all the players, it is not easy,” he completed.
