By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
“I just wanted to be aggressive”, said the former NBA champ after the game. “They were coming back and we needed someone to make a play and I want to be that guy to make the play. It was a total team effort. They played us hard, but we stuck together. Our bigs helped the guards, the guards helped the bigs. Coach had a great gameplan and we just executed the whole 40 minutes. It’s very important to take advantage of home court. Our fans are great”.
Coach Neven Spahija was asked how he can combine the game of Cole with the talent of Pierre Jackson who shined in the first EuroLeague win of the season for Maccabi against Bamberg Baskets. The Croatian coach was more than honest: “Realistically we have to play better team basketball. I know that they can play together with Pierre Jackson. Cole’s family came from the States yesterday and you could feel that on the court. Like I said before it’s going to take some time to put the pieces together. I love this group, they are working hard”.
And after a 2-0 start, Spahija is satisfied: “I really want to congratulate my team and the entire arena for this win. I don’t think we played the best possible basketball, but we won. At least we gave up only 68 points. We had more rebounds than them, more assists than them. But, I think we can do better… This is October and the first time for many players at this level. I am sure with our work ethic we will get better. ”