Chus Mateo: “We're playing a match of paramount importance against Milan”
“We're approaching it with enthusiasm and confidence. If we do things well, we have a good chance of winning,” said Musa.
Chus Mateo and Musa spoke in the press conference the day before the Real Madrid-EA7 Emporio Armani Milan clash, on matchday 31 of the EuroLeague. The coach discussed the game which will be played at the Movistar Arena (Tuesday, 8.45 pm CET): “We approach it fully aware of the importance of a direct clash between teams that are in with a chance of making the playoffs. It's very evenly matched and now all the games we're going to play until the end are direct battles at a very high level. They'll make us work hard if we want to beat them.”
“I was pleased with the team's performance against Unicaja and the individual performances of each player, but more so with a collective victory. It was hard fought and we had to dig in, believing all the way to the end. That was yesterday and Milan will be another story. These are games that give you a boost of morale and energy to approach the next one, but we have to think that tomorrow's game will be different. We've already forgotten it in our heads. It doesn't stop.”
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
“They have a great team with top-quality players like Mirotic, Leday, Shields, Causeur, who we have a special affection for here, Bolmaro, and so on. They'll want to perform at their best level. They know how to play very good basketball, they have a great coach and they shoot very well from three-point range. We have to be focused from the beginning to the end.”
Playoffs
“We're going to push for it until the last day. We're going to fight and fight, that's guaranteed. I don't know what's going to happen, only that we're playing a match of paramount importance tomorrow. We have to take them one at a time.”
Campazzo and Bruno Fernando
“We're going to try them out but I can't say for sure if they're going to be part of the squad or not. We'll see how they evolve today and if they'll be available for tomorrow.”
Musa
“He's a player I always have faith in. He's a crucial part of our team. Yesterday he performed extraordinarily well, not only in scoring but also in rebounds, assists and defence. He was really good.”
Musa: “Every game is a final now”
“We know how important this game is, and to win at home to get into the EuroLeague playoffs, which is our first objective. We're going to approach it with a huge amount of enthusiasm and confidence. If we do things well, we have a good chance of winning.”
“This is a final. Every game in the EuroLeague is a final now. We're only thinking about this game. They will be too. The key will be defence and being strong. If we close the rebounding and run we can hurt them. We have a lot of offensive talent but the defence needs to perform at the highest level.”