Vezenkov: “We’re still looking for our chemistry”

Sasha Vezenkov emphasized that Olympiakos players did not play hard and Monaco put out more energy on the floor, expected more points in the attack, gave a signal for the match with Hapoel Tel Aviv on Friday, asked only for victories in the SEF, praised the quality of Monaco and called them the same team as the Israelis, wished them to be healthy because the Euroleague is “marathon” and considers that teams are constantly shaped and deformed with this format.

In detail: “We scored 91 points and lost because we didn’t play defense. We have to find our chemistry. We look for it through the games. We have to be tougher. Monaco played with more energy. In attack we made bad choices, but even so, we managed to score points that should have brought us the win. We don’t have time to think about this game, the good thing is that in two days we play again. We are playing with the most in-form team in the tournament. Entering the match with more energy and giving 100% for the victory. Sure, it’s early, but home wins give you confidence and peace of mind.

Monaco cuts off the triangles from the pick-and-roll, tries to keep 2-2 and gives the free kicks to what it considers not so dangerous shooters. This is their tactic. We haven’t found a way not to get cut from 2-2. This is the most basketball read. We found spaces, we scored points. We had to play better defense to win. We have players with personality, players who play well, players who are coming back from injuries and they need to feel good. Chemistry is hard to find. It’s our job to do it. We have to learn from defeats and move on.

Chemistry in defense is the rules, what the coach tells us, what energy we have, how much we will put our bodies. Get to know your teammate. Some guys play better defense than others and you have to mix it up to play good defense. We are talking about top-class players for James and Diallo, who in 1v1 always have the advantage of the attack. It’s a team effort to stop them. You can’t say in 1v1 I’m going to stop James. With Spanoulis, he spends more time. It’s hard, it’s teamwork.

Very good that we have a match in two days. Hapoel is similar to Monaco. He has talent, athleticism, plays similar defense. We have to be 100% ready to match the sportsmanship, be tougher and show that we want to win. There are many matches, it’s a “marathon”. We must be healthy. You will enjoy it. You have to win, but you have to focus that, from a certain point on, the teams are formed. You have to be more prepared. The Euroleague has three stages and we are at the beginning. You have to stay close, work. There are no 38 finals. We are closer to the NBA format. We learn from defeats and move on because that’s the system. All teams win. The organization is exciting and difficult.”