Chus Mateo: 'Baskonia is a thorn in our side, a brave bull to deal with' / News - Basketnews.com

Chus Mateo addressed Real Madrid's 0-2 record against Baskonia this season, calling the team from Vitoria "a brave bull to deal with."

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Real Madrid head coach Chus Mateo did not hesitate to affirm that his team has "a thorn in their side" because Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz have beaten them twice in as many games this season.

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"We are facing a team that is very strong this year, playing very well, and is at the top of the table in both competitions, the ACB and the Euroleague," Mateo said before addressing the main issue.

"They've also beaten us twice. We have a thorn stuck in our side and we want to face them. We hope we'll be able to have a good game," the Spanish coach said.

"We are 0-2 against Baskonia this season and our motivation is great. We've beaten Valencia three times, but that doesn't count. These are individual matches. You always carry a past against the Spanish teams. We know each other well," he stressed.

Markus Howard is one of the most important players in a squad with a lot of quality. Mateo didn't want to focus on Baskonia's main scorer, arguing that it's not the individuals but the team that really stands out.

"Howard has an extraordinary level, sometimes he is unstoppable," the 54-year-old tactician admitted.

"But if Baskonia are up there it's because they're having a very good campaign as a team. They make 11 three-pointers per Euroleague game, something that fits perfectly into the definition of their game," he explained.

The Real Madrid coach was not very clear when talking about the players he will be able to count on against the team from Vitoria. Meteo said we'll have towait until Tuesday to see whether Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernandez (flu), and Edy Tavares (ankle sprain) will be able to play.

"Guerschon Yabusele has recently recovered. Tavares' sprain doesn't seem very serious, but we'll see how it evolves," he said.

The EuroLeague double week seem to become even more important at this point of the season.

"In the double weeks everything is magnified for better or for worse," the Madrid-born coach thinks.

"We are facing two very important rivals (Baskonia and Valencia). If we are able to win we will be closer to the goal, but we don't think about the two games of the week, only about the one in front of us. Baskonia is a brave bull to deal with."

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