Mateo: “Olympiakos will continue to be in the Final 4 – I am not surprised that Panathinaikos is in the final”

THE Chus Mateo made it clear that it was not only easy Real’s victory over Olympiakoswhile a difficult task awaits in Sunday’s final against Panathinaikos.

“We realized what we had to do to beat a great team like Olympiacos. They are a team with a lot of heart and we knew it would be difficult to beat them because they play great defense. We were able to run rebounds, control the tempo on the run and play good defense while making 9/13 3-pointers. That gave us a big lead, which when we got to half time we knew it wasn’t enough. We continued to fight, we expected Olympiacos to come back because they always do. Olympiacos responded with shots and offensive rebounds, but we fought back and in the end controlled the tempo with two point guards. We tried to go for slow attacks and it’s nice to see that your players understood what they had to do to beat a great opponent. Real Madrid might not be the best defense, but it’s nice to see how my players defend when they have to. Congratulations to my players, because they deserved it“, emphasized the coach of the “queen”.

Regarding Olympiakos and the differences with last year, he said:Olympiacos kept the same character. Bartzokas has been one of the best coaches in Europe for years. Despite losing Vezenkov and Sluka, he built a defense-based team. Peters contributed a lot to the offense. They kept the heart of the champion they have and I believe they will continue to be in the Final 4 because they deserve it».

Regarding his team’s room for improvement, he said:My players express me every day. We have players who are very good in attack, but they want to defend and they defend because the team is pushing them to do so. They want to become better players and in the first half we were amazing. We took the rebounds and ran, controlled the game. My players are amazing, they don’t care about themselves shining, they want the team to shine. And that’s why they all won together today».

As for Panathinaikos and the final? “For the final I would like to have four quarters like we had at the start today. But it won’t be easy at all. I need to see a little more of Panathinaikos, today’s game and the match they beat us. I’m not surprised he’s in the final. They are a team full of confidence, they have a coach who gives them the impetus to become champions. They have leaders, like Slukas, they have good scorers and rebounders, they have good chemistry. The final will be difficult. That’s all I can tell you for now, I’ll be able to say more after we analyze them, after tonight’s beer».

Finally about his own work he said: “It’s not easy to be in the final every year, but I have great partners and players and I owe it to them. Players make coaches successful. I am not a coach who wants to be a star, I need my players and partners. We will all be great together, united. The victory is also dedicated to Deck, who is injured. We want the title for him and Rudy».