By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Coach Neven Spahija despite the 1-5 start believes that Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv can turn things around. According to Maccabi coach, the injury woes of his roster remain the main issue for this moment.
“We are playing the games without many pieces and that costed us”, said Spahija. “We missed our point guards, players like Roll and Kane tried to compensate for them and lost energy. As a coach, I was in this situation many times. There’s still a way to go, it’s a marathon. We are going to play better basketball, we are going to make shots, we are going to be better.
According to the Croatian coach, his team just has to keep pushing: “What I wish is to have all the team together, working out together. We have a domestic league game, we are going to fight and then we will think about Gran Canaria. As I said I have been in this situation a lot of times and I have always found my way out of it. We have to work hard and we have to be together. It’s going to be a big challenge but as a coach, I have huge experience and we don’t have to be down, we have to keep working”.
Asked about the possible decisions of the management, after the mediocre start, Spahija said: “I really apologize but I don’t know what to answer right now. My mind is on the court. We will try to find out why the second quarter ended 23-8, why we missed so many shots and that’s what we will focus on. I don’t know what the management will decide. My mind is with my players. I know that players like Scottie Wilbekin will be able to find themselves and that’s the problem right now”.
Part of the Maccabi fans left the arena before the end of the game, but also a big part of the fans cheered for Maccabi until the end.”I am so sorry that happened”, admitted Spahija. “Maccabi lost badly. The crowd is going to be disappointed. I say to them that we will be much better and they will come back and enjoy Maccabi basketball. For the rest of the fans who stayed until the end and supported us, I have to say that I really appreciate it. We will never forget it, not me or my players and we will give our 300% to make them happy”.