Laso after loss to PAO: 'If we don't play as a team, it doesn't matter who we meet in the playoffs' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

On Thursday night,Real Madrid saw hostsPanathinaikos OPAP Athens get away with their first win after almost four years and 13 straight losses to their opponents. The Spanish side scored 32 points in the fourth quarter, which was not enough to overturn the Greens' double-digit lead (76-63) with five minutes to go.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Georgios Papagiannis Points 18 Accuracy 9-11 Rebounds 10 Assists 1

Pablo Laso's squad attempted a comeback which resulted in a partial score of 9-2, but that's where Howard Sant-Roos hit a big 3-point shot and a couple of free throws to give the Greeks a significant and decisive boost.

For Real Madrid, things have been going south lately. Since February 6, Los Blancos have accumulated 10 losses over 15 contests across all competitions. Their balance is 3-3 in the ACB League and 2-7 in the EuroLeague, and their only successes have come at the expense of AX Armani Exchange Milan and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. All their away games ended up in defeat, with the expedition to OAKA being no exception.

When PAO dominated the first quarter by 22-11, the vibes vividly reminded of Kaunas, where Real Madrid suffered a 47-68 blowout on an all-time worst offensive night. In the post-game presser at OAKA, Pablo Laso presented his team's slow start as the main cause of its downfall.

"Our bad start in the game definitely cost us. Panathinaikos were better than us. Sometimes, basketball is so simple. The game was beautiful for a spectator to watch, but I think that we can play better," the Basque coach said and continued:

"I'm not worried about one or two players. As Real Madrid's coach, I think we can play better. I don't want to take anything away from Panathinaikos because they were very good. But we can play much better than we did tonight," Laso repeated.

During a 2019 interview, Laso recalled an incident following Real Madrid's hammering at the hands of Panathinaikos in the first playoff game between the two teams in April 2018.

3-pointers this season

34%9,2Points made:9,2Accuracy:34,5%Place in standings:4Record max:14Record min:1Most made 3FGs:Rudy FernandezTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"That night, we slept very little, and we watched the game again with the players. We finished the season winning the EuroLeague, and I will never forget one thing: when I went to buy a newspaper from a kiosk in Athens, the owner -who was an Olympiacos fan- told us that we played like chickens. Sometimes, it's good to listen to what other people around you have to say," the Spaniard said back then.

In the OAKA press room, Laso was reminded of that incident and of what followed Madrid's 67-95 blowout in the first 2018 quarter-final.

"We didn't lose that game. They 'killed' us," Laso responded.

"We played like shit, and they 'killed' us. It's a team thing. The big change from one game to another was that we were not Real Madrid in the first one, while in the second, we were."

For the record, the Spanish powerhouse won Game 2 by 89-82 in a result that was only the beginning of their path to glory and their last-to-date EuroLeague crown but also the first straw in an unprecedented 13-game winning streak against PAO.

Referring to the areas that Real Madrid need to improve on, Laso uttered that his main concern is how the team performs.

"The first thing I focus on is that we all play better. Does that mean I'm happy or disappointed because a player played well or bad? Maybe the one who played bad did his job and helped the team," he said.

"I want to keep everyone focused, avoid silly mistakes. Tonight, I can say that we outrebounded Panathinaikos by 39-23, we shot the ball well, we did a lot of good things... But the important thing is to compete well as a team, and we didn't," Laso argued.

Regardless of the position Real end up occupying in the standings, they will enter the playoffs with the home-court advantage as their guide to another Final Four after being eliminated by Anadolu Efes last year.

However, Laso thinks that playing up to three games at the Wizink Center will amount to nothing if Real Madrid don't change course.

"If we don't play as a team, it doesn't matter who we cross paths with in the playoffs," he warned.

"Today, people said that the game was not important for Panathinaikos. However, they showed will and concentration, and that says a lot about the team, the coach, and the players," Laso concluded, reserving his highest praise for the winners.

Team captain Sergio Llull pointed out that his team had a bad game.

"We came out without intensity, they scored easy baskets on us. We got closer near the end, but we couldn't win," the 34-year-old guard said.

"It was an important game for us, but we could not win it, and we have to keep working."

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