May 24, 2012
Quarterfinal Post-Game quotes: iurbentia Bilbao vs. Zadar
iurbentia Bilbao
KK Zadar
Txus Vidorreta video
TXUS VIDORRETA, head coach
"The game for us was good in the first quarter, with very good defense and aggressiveness, especially against the playmaker Stipcevic. We also got good shots from two- and three-point distance that gave us easy looks at the basket. But Zadar is a good team and they reacted well in the second and especially the third quarter, playing good defense and taking advantage of the pick-'n'-roll in the middle with Ruzic. After we had an advantage of 15 points, they came back to tie the score at the end of the third quarter. This was a difficult moment for us and our mentality, which wasn't the best on defense at that time. We needed to do what we did in the first quarter, but when we needed it, our reaction was excellent to kill the game. We did what we had to do on offense and defense to get the win and put us in the semi tomorrow against Khimki."
Janis Blums video
JANIS BLUMS, guard
"Everybody is happy with this win, because Zadar is a good team that plays good basketball, like all Croatian teams. We have a good coach and we knew before the game that is was going to be tough to beat them. We played hard from the very first second and showed great character. We wanted to win the game and not let them play. My team did a good job today. Our fans are unbelievable, our sixth player and even more. I want to thank them and hope that their support tomorrow will be even better."
DRAGO PASALIC, center
"I would probably say that defense was the key to win tonight. We played good defense in the end of the game and also in the first half. We managed to get a 15-point lead in the beginning of the second half but lost all our advantage. Good defense allowed us to win it in the end. We were concentrated on free throws and that was another key for us. We had the desire to win the game and this is what we did. Zadar never gave up, they are a team of this kind. They played 100% and we knew that we had to do the same coming into the game."
RENALDAS SEIBUTIS, guard
"First of all, I want to congratulate my team for giving 100 percent on the court and being able to beat Zadar. I am very happy for the team. The main key was our defense, trying to stop their leaders, like Desmon Farmer, Rok Stipcevic and Todor Gecevski. We did that pretty well and this is why we won the game. Our fans were fantastic tonight. I can only thank them for coming to Turin to support us. They helped us a lot tonight."
JAVIER SALGADO, guard
"Even when we were leading by 15 points and lost our advantage, the team still believed that it could win the game. We deserved to win the game and managed to do it. Of course, Zadar played with more intensity in the second half and hit some incredible shots that got them back in the game. Free throws are key to winning close games. We managed to stay calm and that helped us to keep a lead in the final two or three minutes. I don't know if it is the same hitting free throws in the Eurocup quarterfinals than in the Spanish third division, but in the end, it is always the same. It is you, the ball and the rim, nothing else."
LUKE RECKER, guard
"I think we played good defense and had a good start, which is important. I don't think we were ever behind in the game and that was important to us. Janis Blums played great and a lot of guys played good for us tonight. We are very happy. We had great support from our fans, who came all the way from Bilbao. It is a city that loves basketball and we were very happy to see them here. We exceeded expectations and played really well in the Eurocup. This is our first year in European competitions and we all hope to have a great game tomorrow."
ZMAGO SAGADIN, head coach
"I must congratulate Bilbao Basket. They were better and they won the game. We were too nervous in the beginning. We let them start very good scoring, and then we spent a lot, a lot of energy to come back. But we still came back at the right time and at the end of the third quarter tied the game. Then we missed some really open shots, we lost some concentration, maybe talking to much with the referees. First of all, we are a shooting team. We don't have such big bodies inside. We're a team of shooters. That was probably the difference today, that we didn't score much from the perimeter, 22.5 percent. Normally we are much better from the perimeter. Actually, inside were pretty good today, but perimeter and free throw shooting, 59 percent, killed us. These two things, poor perimeter shooting and lousy free throws, killed us. Once again, I will congratulate Bilbao, their coach and team. They deserved and they won the game."
ROK STIPCEVIC, guard
"I am very disappointed, because three times we were down by 9 or 10 points and came back in the game. We showed that we have the energy and the quality, we showed that we can play with them, we had a chance to win, but coming back three times in one game isn't easy. In the end, they had some plays going to their side and that decided the game. Our biggest problem was that some of our leaders were in foul trouble. For me, it was very tough to play most of the game without having a rest, because they changed Blums and Salgado, and they had Seibutis guarding me, too. So three players pressured me full-court all game. Sometimes they doubled me, sometimes they had three guys on me, and I saw that they were well-prepared to play against me. I have the energy, but it was very tough to play for almost 40 minutes against three guys who pressure you in the Final Eight. We've got experience at this Final Eight, and we have to play Cibona in three days, so we must forget this game, because in sport, if you think too much about losing, it will make it worse. You must put out the things that you do bad, correct them and go forward."
DESMON FARMER, forward
"A couple of our guys fouled out of the game, and I think after that we played scattered basketball, everybody was trying to do it, and we went out of our system. But I give Bilbao credit, they played well. They had a game-plan together, they studied us very well and made things difficult for us. I think we still played well, as teams didn't even expect us to be here anyway. So at least we showed that we belong here by playing a good game. We played hard and we made it tough for them, so it wasn't an easy win for them. I think we played better than people expected. Everybody who's on our team is good, so when some of our players were in foul trouble, it was an opportunity for other guys to step up. Guys went out there and tried hard, and that's all that we can ask from them. It's very disappointing not to go to the last four, but this is an experience for everybody on our team: none of our guys have been to the Final Eight before. Guys enjoyed being here, guys played well and guys can say they went home and lost with a fight, and that's all that matters."
TOMISLAV RUZIC, forward
"I am very disappointed. I thought we had a very good chance, but unfortunately we lost. We had a bad start in this game, so basically we had to catch up the whole first half. In the third quarter we did it a very good job and came basically to 0-0, but we had one or two minutes of poor concentration and they went up by 10 points again. We made a big effort, and then we didn't have enough concentration to make it to the next step. We didn't shoot free throws well and that was a big difference too, especially in the beginning."
Friday, April 03, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com
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