By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Sergio Llull of Real Madrid is a former All-EuroLeague selection and EuroLeague champ, but he may actually be playing the best basketball of his career today.
The 29-year-old was named the EuroLeague’s MVP for November after guiding Madrid to a 4-1 record with impressive numbers, including a career-high 30 points in Round 7 against Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens. Llull posted 21.4 points and 5.6 assists per game in November and for the season is third in the league in scoring (19.4 ppg.) and tied for sixth in assists (5.8 apg.). In the customary EuroLeague.net interview for the competition’s MVP of the Month, Llull reviewed his and his team’s strong results and acknowledged that he may be playing his best right now and could still get better. “Every year that goes by I try to be a better player, extend my repertoire if you will,” Llull explained. “This year I happened to be in great form during the first months of competition, and that is because I tried my best to do everything in my ability so that the team wins.”
Sergio, congratulations on the MVP of the Month award, with your birthday falling in the middle of November, too. You’ve had a lot of honors over the years, but how do you feel about getting your second monthly MVP award in this, your 10th EuroLeague season?
“Many thanks. It is the second MVP of the Month award that I have won, and winning this kind of individual accolade always makes you proud, but the real important thing here is that it helped the team win. And of course, the main thing is that the team keeps winning games, so let’s hope that we can continue this way so we can stay in the high spots in the standings.”
You had a great November personally and that helped put Madrid in second place in the EuroLeague. Is the team where you expected it to be right now, among the leaders, and are you guys playing as well as you had hoped to?
“I think we can still improve a lot as a team. We have to work on many details. You can always get better. We are on a good winning streak, both in the EuroLeague and the Spanish League. We dropped a couple home games along the way, and I hope that doesn’t come back to bite us in the end, but I think the team is doing well and following the right path.”
You started November with 23 points in the first three quarters against Galatasaray, which was winless at the time, but Madrid still had to come back at home in the fourth. Did that game kind of prove how competitive the EuroLeague is from top to bottom and that you can’t take any opponent lightly, even at home?
“Yes of course. Every week there are surprises, it’s something that goes hand in hand with this new format. Everybody plays everybody and there are no easy games. The main thing you have to do is stay strong at home, and then on the road it’s hard to win. There are really difficult arenas to play at, but as I said, we have to stay on this course and keep winning.”
Next you guys challenged CSKA in Moscow until the very last minute. Did you take some positives from that 1-point road loss against the defending champions?
“Yes, of course. These games are a little bittersweet, because you are so close to winning that when you lose by so few points in such a complicated place, you feel disappointed. But at the same time, you have to learn from every game you play and get better from that. I think we played a great game in Moscow, except in the second quarter, when CSKA simply rolled over us. The rest of the game we managed to compete face to face with the European champion at its home, and very few teams get to do that.”
Back home in Madrid, there was another tough game against Panathinaikos. What was it about that game, in particular, that allowed you to shatter your EuroLeague career high with 30 points?
“The game against Panathinaikos was special, of course, because I had a career-high in scoring. The game was pretty balanced against such a great team as Panathinaikos, which features a lot of very good, experienced players. It was a tough game, but thanks to the support of our fans we managed to pull out that win in the end. I think it was a beautiful game because we managed to get the win, but also because there was a great atmosphere at Barclaycard Center.”
Next, came El Clasico and it turned into a blowout quickly as you scored a lot in the first half. What did it mean for Madrid’s confidence to win so big like that on Barcelona’s court?
“Well, a game like that is always a big confidence booster, I won’t lie. We are Real Madrid and we always play to win, anywhere and against anyone. It is true that it was the first El Clasico in the EuroLeague, a difficult game, and that we had also lost there a few weeks earlier in the Spanish League in a bad game on our side. However, we learned a lot from that loss and we used that to play one of the best games of the season for us. We played with intensity from top to bottom, focused and managed to overwhelm Barcelona.”
Against Unics at home in the last game of November, one of your main jobs was helping to defend Keith Langford, and you limited him to 13 points. What do you take the most pride in, your offense or defense?
“Well, I think I feel proud about all aspects of my game, honestly. The main goal is to have a bit of balance and try to do everything right, both in offense and defense and, of course, with the idea of helping the team. It’s not only about scoring the most points, but also about playing good defense, having a good defensive attitude, helping find the rhythm of the game and, summarizing, making the team play better overall.”
You are playing just a couple of minutes more per game now than in the past but, scoring 30% more than last season, which was your best in the EuroLeague, point-wise, until now. Why?
“I try to get better year after year. Every year that goes by I try to be a better player, extend my repertoire if you will. I try to focus on all aspects of the game. This year I happened to be in great form during the first months of competition, and that is because I tried my best to do everything in my ability so that the team wins. Every season you have to step up in this direction, and this year I did that, which was also rewarded with the confidence of my teammates, my coach and the coaching staff.”
You always seem to be having fun on the court. This new EuroLeague format, with more games than ever and top opponents all the time… how much more fun is it from your perspective as a player?
“I always try to have fun on the court. When I have fun, when I enjoy myself, that’s when I play the best. This new format in the EuroLeague allows you to play against all the great teams in the competition, to visit all the arenas in the continent and it’s a more entertaining format overall. But it’s also more entertaining for the fans, who can see all the teams in the EuroLeague.”
It’s a longer season than ever, too. Is there something different about your team this season that gives you confidence over the long haul to challenge for the EuroLeague title?
“I don’t think so. When you play for Real Madrid the winning mentality is always there. The goal is always getting to the final of all competitions we play and winning as many games as possible along the way. The way to do that starts with a good preseason and then a good start of the year. Then the goal after that is to continue well and then finish it up even better. You can never relax and with this new format, where every game counts, it is even more dangerous. Points could be a key in the end for tiebreakers, because there are a lot of teams and ties wouldn’t be such a strange thing to happen.”