Avi Even ahead of Game 3: 'Not for a second have I stopped believing that we'll win' / News - Basketnews.com

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With Real Madrid having gained a very clear advantage over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, the Israeli champs are forced to win both games this week to survive in the playoff series.

Being 2-0 behind, Maccabi know that there is no more room for mistakes. This will be the first EuroLeague playoff game held in Tel Aviv in seven years.

The series arrives at the Menora Mivtachim Arena after Maccabi lost 74-84 in Game 1 and 66-95 in Game 2 - both were held in the Spanish capital. Now, backed by more than 10,000 home fans, Avi Even's team have to come back from a 2-0 deficit, something that no team has ever done.

"The nature of series is such that the only thing that matters is the victory or the loss," Maccabi coach Avi Even said at the press conference before Game 3.

"We do not want to erase what happened, otherwise we will not learn from it. We treat the next game as a final. We didn't play well in Game 2, but there's no time and we have to move forward," the Israeli coach observed.

Even was asked if he still believes in Maccabi's chances against Real, and provided a parable:

"Many years ago, my grandparents came to Israel by ship from Poland and Russia, and my two grandparents came from Iraq - and the last thing they believed was that this would ever happen. We're in a place where belief is the strongest thing. Not even for a second have I stopped believing that we will win," the 47-year-old coach said.

"We'll make adjustments, we'll come ready for the game," Even promised, "there are clear things we can't let happen - Real may be a good team, but we can't allow them to shoot 48% from three and make 15 three-pointers per game. It's clear that if we repeat this scenario again, we're not going to be good."

"We really believe in ourselves and that's why we're disappointed, because we believe we can. We don't like the way we performed in the last game. We come into the third game with a very clear understanding of how we need to play," the Israeli coach continued, declaring: "There's been enough talk already, it's our time to get on the court and get our stuff done."

Even also acknowledged that Real Madrid "are one of the most experienced teams in Europe, if not the most experienced. They have players who have been to finals, so they have a certain advantage when it comes to experience. But we've gone through two games.

I believe that we've learned a few things and that we'll see other things from our guards and their guards," he concluded.

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