After two consecutive losses in the factory and when she almost finally lost a chance to reach the top eight, Maccabi Tel Aviv will try to recover and return to smiling in the Euroleague tomorrow (Thursday, 21:00) in an away game against Zalgiris. Ahead of the match, coach Yannis Sapropoulos and player Oz Blazer spoke at the press conference. The press conference was broadcast live here on the site.
Just before they leave the country, the Yellows have announced that team player Othello Hunter will not take off with them. The American suffers from pain in his leg, remembers an injury from the game against Maccabi Rishon Lezion, and will undergo physical therapy.
Sapropolus He opened and said: “We need good energy, to continue the last two league games from the league that we had good minutes in defense and offense. This is a great opportunity for us to achieve a good result that will raise our morale. “
There are not many chances, how do you get players to come up with motivation: “We are not happy with the situation we are in. We want to finish the games we have left as best we can. This is a goal and should be kept alive. As long as we have a chance, we’ll fight. We will try to work on motivation, the most important thing for us is to win the remaining six games. “
What do you think of Zalgiris: “They are a team that never gives up. They are dangerous, especially in the second half. We have to be focused on both halves, they keep a high energy and for that reason if you do not play well for two or three minutes they will beat you and then it will become much harder for us “.
It is exciting that the difference between the ability in the Israeli league and the ability you present in the Euroleague: “I do not believe that the Israeli league is weak. On the contrary, it has strengthened since last year. Teams have built good staffs, they can bring in more foreigners and see results. The league is more competitive than last year. I think the Euroleague teams that are healthier than others, and have fewer games, are maintaining a high level. “Teams like Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona are less affected by the local framework.”
“I think our bad start affected the whole season. We could have done things differently, we were with hands tied and we had a very short time to prepare for the Euroleague season. The conditions affected us, but after so many months it may not be the main reason we are not playing well. “
Oz laser He said: “We met them at the beginning of the Euroleague season, they are still fighting for the chance to enter the playoffs and with us the story is a little different. By the end of the Euroleague season we want to get as many wins as possible and get better from game to game. This season is very different for all the teams, it is impossible to look at what was in a previous meeting between the teams. There are many variables and it is impossible to rely on. We have to concentrate on this game on its own. “
How disappointing to get into this situation: “It’s disappointing. is very. We wanted to be in the playoffs but that’s the situation but we need to concentrate now on winning. We were hurt by the lack of crowd, what he brings to the lamp, especially in close games, is something else. We need to overcome this year, but we have more goals for this season. “
How do you stop running Zalgiris: “Speed and pace should stop with aggression. If the team can run then it will be difficult. We need to stay focused, not let them run and play very hard. “
Chris Jones Asked how they continue to play with motivation: “We need to focus on ourselves and our goals. We understand that the chances of rising are slim, but we need to be tough as a group and continue the process. If we come with the right thinking, I believe we can win and continue with positive momentum. “
