Donatas Motiejunas: 'We respect Olympiacos, but we go to Piraeus for two victories' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Alfonso Cannavacciuolo/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Alfonso Cannavacciuolo/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Just 24 hours before the first tip of the quarterfinals in the EuroLeague, the Lithuanian center Donatas Motiejunas of AS Monaco talked about the series with the Olympiacos Piraeus and the first two games at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

In an interview with the Greek website gazzetta.gr, Motiejunas talked about the atmosphere that awaits his team in Piraeus. Then he expressed respect for Olympiacos and shared optimism that his team can return to Monaco with two wins in their hands.

Motiejunas expressed his opinion about the importance of qualifying for the playoffs.

"I think that is the goal of every player when he plays in the EuroLeague. You want to be the part of these 8 teams that qualify. Of course, one team is different from the other. Many have had this ambition since the beginning of the season and for us, it is a great honor that we achieved it," Motiejunas said.

The Lithuanian center was also asked about Russian teams if their exclusion was fair for every EuroLeague team.

"A decision had to be made in that context, and it did. Some teams benefited from this decision and some did not. Like us. The coach made us understand that the initial goal was always the same," he responded. For that, it was necessary to win every game we had in order to qualify. We did an incredible job and achieved this goal. Without the exclusions of the Russian teams, we could have finished higher. But the key is the qualification."

Motiejunas explained, how his team managed to win 13 of 16 EuroLeague games since December.

"It's amazing. Since the arrival of the coach Sasa Obradovic, many have noticed the difference, especially in our defense. Everyone has his role on the offense. All credits go to the new coach because before he came to his team we could not play like that. His arrival really was the turning point of the season," Motiejunas paid tribute to Obradovic.

According to Monaco's center, his team will be ready to fight against Olympiacos and its amazing 15,000 fans in the quarterfinals.

"The atmosphere will be crazy. We played difficult games in crazy arenas such as Maccabi and Zalgiris. It will be great to play having the taste of the playoffs against Olympiacos. As a player, these are the games we want to play," Lithuanian added. We fight all year to get the opportunity to face such a team in this atmosphere. Nevertheless, we will go to Greece with the desire to win both matches, not just one."

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