Itoudis takes responsibility for loss to Real, doesn't rule out more signings / News - Basketnews.com

Dimitris Itoudis spoke in detail about how Fenerbahce lost to Real Madrid. The Greek coach took the blame for the result and analyzed his team's style of play.

Credit: dpa/picture-alliance - Scanpix Credit dpa/picture-alliance - Scanpix

Real Madrid put the breaks on Fenerbahce Beko, defeating the EuroLeague regular season leaders in Istanbul 85-71 and handing them their first home defeat of this season.

Player of the Game EFF 26 Walter Tavares Points 17 Accuracy 7-7 Rebounds 4 Assists 4

After the game, coach Dimitris Itoudis congratulated Madrid on awell-deserved win, pointing out that Chus Mateo's players performed much better.

"We shot with a very low percentage throughout the match, while our opponent had a great percentage, especially in 2-point shots. I'm the only one to blame, I couldn't convince my players that this match is different from the others," the Greek tactician stressed.

As Fenerbahce had to make do without Scottie Wilbekin and Marko Guduric, Itoudis thinks that excuses can't be made, adding that his side "should have approached this match with a different attitude."

"Despite the fatigue, we put our best effort and forced Real Madrid to 14 turnovers. We also did a good job on the offensive glass," he argued.

Following a streak of great performances, this time around Nigel Hayes-Davis didn't live up to his recent feats, tallying 5 points and 2 rebounds. Itoudis thinks one bad game can't erase what the 27-year-old forward has achieved so far.

"Nigel loves basketball and is constantly training extra. He's been below his season standards today, but he sets an example for other players because of his effort on the court. I am very happy to have Nigel on our team," Itoudis said.

The two-time EuroLeague winner as a head coach referred to the impact Edy Tavares had on his team trying to attack Madrid's basket.

"One of our strategies in the match today was to take Tavares out of the paint by using the shot threat from our big men. Although we had good shooting opportunities, we were not able to make the shots.

Points this season

50%85,5Points made:85,5Accuracy:50,4%Place in standings:2Record max:107Record min:71Best scorer:Johnathan MotleyTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Since we couldn't do that, we had to fill the gap by being extra motivated, but instead, we gave our opponent 13 points off 6 offensive rebounds," he explained.

The Turkish team tried to take advantage of their two big men's (Johnathan Motley, Devin Booker) ability to shoot the three-ball to get Tavares out of the paint. Booker went 3/5 from deep, Motley had a modest 1/4.

"The three-pointers Motley tried were part of our game plan for today," Itoudis admitted.

"I believe that Johnathan Motley will be able to shoot better in the following games, as we will continue to take advantage of the shooting threats from both our bigs in such games."

Itoudis clarified that Fenerbahce are not planning on making any more signings.

"Of course, we are Fenerbahce and we are constantly following the developments in the transfer market, but our main focus is to ensure that injured players can join us as soon as possible," he said.

While Fenerbahce dropped to 9-2 in the EuroLeague, Itoudis reminded everyone that they "are still the league leaders."

"I'm not saying this in an arrogant manner," he made clear. "The reason why we're still on top is the players who were on the court today."

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