Perasovic: ‘Hope we will recover our freshness in the next weeks’ / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com-Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com-Scanpix

Real Madrid (17-3) bolstered their leadership in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague after a spectacular win at home against UNICS Kazan (12-8). The Blancos remained unbeaten in the WiZink Center with 11 victories in a row.

Player of the Game EFF 28 Walter Tavares Points 14 Accuracy 5-8 Rebounds 11 Assists 1

Pablo Laso expressed his satisfaction, congratulating their players for following the game plan.

"Our opening three quarters were really good, defensively and offensively. The team executed our idea really well. The feeling we had is that they are a very aggressive team on defense, which forces you to pick up turnovers and not let you play quickly.

We played well in offense, sharing the ball and dominating the game rhythm. We dominated the boards, and on offense, we shared the ball very well," he analyzed.

Laso admitted they were not thinking of the advantage, but then it became a motivation to keep rolling up.

"I can say it now, but we were playing two games, one for the victory and another for the tie-break advantage. We didn't think about the tie-break advantage, and we didn't tell our players because it was unnecessary. But it was in our head," added the Spanish coach.

Real Madrid are still undefeated at home. They are the only squad apart from Olympiacos that did not lose any game in front of their fans.

"In a competition like the EuroLeague, the fact that we are undefeated at home allows you to be in the upper part of the standings with good options. I really thank our fans for their support. We played very good games at home," recognized the 54-year-old coach.

Asked if Madrid could clinch a spot in the Playoffs soon, Laso preferred not to think too much about it.

"The number of wins to be in the Playoffs could be around 19 or 20 approximately. But that's not the point now. We cannot think about the future now. We are in the right direction. We just need to keep doing like this," Laso said.

Points this season

47%78,0Points made:78,0Accuracy:47,1%Place in standings:8Record max:109Record min:41Best scorer:Mario HezonjaTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Edy Tavares finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes of action. The big center did not look tired after being tested positive in Covid-19.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, we suffered from Covid-19, and most of the players had problems when they came back. Now, with this variant, the situation is highly different. There is no big damage in their shape, fortunately," revealed Laso.

On the other hand, Velimir Perasovic did a quick summary of the game, admitting they could not do anything.

"They were a lot better from the beginning. They dominated the game. I believed their defense was much better. They defended hard, it was difficult for us to find an open spot. They were accurate in offense too, but everything began in defense. They broke the match easily," explained the Balcanic coach.

Perasovic confessed it was difficult to stop Walter Tavares in the paint.

"After that 10-0 run, their bench's depth is huge. It is harder for us when we change our first players, but after that, our starters played poorly, too, and couldn't play against Tavares, his intimidation. It is hard to play against a player like that."

UNICS Kazan are still among the best 8 teams in the EuroLeague so far.

"We need to forget this loss immediately and think into the next one. We will face CSKA on Friday. Every single game is tough in this competition. Our goal is to be among the 8 best teams, definitely. Hope we will recover our freshness in the next weeks," he concluded.

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