BASKETBALL

​Postgame comments - Maccabi game

30 October 2020 Friday 02:10

Igor Kokoskov: I think we found our edge, our perseverance. This is a tough place to play and this is a tough team to play. We didn't have a good start, but found the way to get back in the game and fight for 40 minutes. Perseverance, that is one of the things that we believe in as a group, and it is a 40-minute game. Like we mentioned before the game, we knew it was going to be a very difficult game for us. There is a lot of talent in Maccabi's team. A lot of threats come from its perimeter players, Wilbekin, Dorsey, and also its big guys, Zizic is a dominant player, so we knew we had to bring our best game to give ourselves a chance to win this game. I think that the game plan, overall, was good. We stuck to the game plan, but even putting the game plan on the side, it is about the players and the energy that we brought, especially our second unit, which changed the game. We got a couple of defensive stops and then the energy and the momentum went on our side. That was the crucial part of the game. Again, it is not easy to play at that level for 40 minutes. I think we had some ups and downs, but at the end of the game, our defense was pretty solid. We got our confidence back and our defense in the fourth quarter, I have to mention that, it was a key factor. Still, there are a lot of areas that we have to look at as a squad, as a group, like offensive rebounds. We knew that rebounds was going to be one of the key points tonight and we have to do a better job. The games that we won, we did a solid job rebounding the ball.

Jan Vesely: We fought. We didn't start the game as we wanted to, but after that, we changed our game and fought until the end, and that was the key. We fought under the baskets, on defense and offense, and that was the key.

Ali Muhammed: Coach, before the game, he prepared us, and he told us to take this game personal, which is why I got on my guys and I told them 'let's get this game personal.' And that's what we did. We came out, played tough, played great defense and we won.