By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Ergin Ataman seemed pleased right after winning Valencia Basket. The coach talked about a strange situation, with Efes shooting just two free throws in the entire game:
“Statistically, it’s a strange situation not to attempt any free throws while playing so well. And yet, I can take it as we found open shots against Valencia defense by moving the ball. We did not even leave a chance for them to commit fouls.”
“I think we played good basketball. We started the game with aggressivity on defense and offense, high tempo, we shared the ball very well and had a very good shot selection. In the beginning of the game, we had the control of the game. It will be difficult for us to reach the playoffs range, but we want to play good basketball and these kinds of games are good for Anadolu Efes‘s prestige in Europe.”
On the other hand, Txus Vidorreta wanted to highlight their good competitive level:
“For us, it was a very difficult game with 7 players out and without point guards but we tried to compete. During the first quarter, we made bad defense from the three-point line – we received three open shots in a row – but during the second part of this quarter we stayed alive. During the third quarter and especially at the beginning of the fourth we made a good job with good percentages and changing defenses, running… But with 5 points down we committed a turnover and McCollum scored 7 consecutive points“.