'You should apologize to him': Walter Tavares gives an emotional speech to Chus Mateo / News - Basketnews.com

Real Madrid center Walter Tavares gave a huge support message to his head coach Chus Mateo, claiming that all his critics should apologize to him, and that the coach was the main reason why Real became EuroLeague champions.

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After winning his second EuroLeague title and becoming Final Four MVP, Edy Tavares showed his huge heart, expressing support to his head coach Chus Mateo.

Player of the Game EFF 23 Sergio Rodriguez Points 15 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 4 Assists 9

Tavares gave a long opening statement, praising Mateo and emphasizing how underrated he was throughout all season.

After Tavares' words, Mateo broke into tears while thanking for his support.

"The only thing I can say is congratulations to this man [Mateo]. I think he suffered more than in trying to put up everything for us," Tavares began. "So we could play together and fight for this club. All the credit goes to him. I think it's hard to manage for every coach that is in his first season. In Madrid, it's super hard to be a head coach. I want to congratulate him."

"He believed in us, while people from our side didn't believe in us and didn't believe in the coach that he can do it [win the EuroLeague]. I think he has so much confidence in himself and what he can bring to the team. I think he deserves it.

I think you guys should apologize to him. There was a lot of criticism and a lot of doubts about him because everybody named a lot of different coaches from other teams, but never him. No one ever mentioned Madrid. Madrid has the balls. Mateo has the balls. So, you had to mention him and Madrid every time.

All the credit goes to the coach. Without him, we wouldn't be here. He was the one who believed in us from the beginning until now. He deserves it more than anybody.

He's one of the best people I've ever met in my life, so all the credit goes to him. You guys should give him the credit. It's super hard to win in Madrid. You have a lot of alphas on a team, you have to manage everybody. It's the only thing I want to say," Tavares said in the press conference.

Real Madrid claimed its 11th title after beating Olympiacos Piraues 79-78. Sergio Llull made a game-winning 2-pointer with 3.1 seconds left.

Tavares also played a huge part in Real Madrid's success. The 31-year-old center accumulated 13 points (5/9 2PT, 3/4 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, and 20 PIR in the final game.

Overall, Tavares averaged 16.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 29.0 PIR during the Final Four in Kaunas.

Tavares finished the 2022-23 EuroLeague season averaging 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 18.0 PIR per game over 40 appearances

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