By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Basketball is a competition before all and every team has that spark when going against an opponent, however, that changes when the teams from the same country compete on the European stage.
They all wish each other the best and MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg coach John Patrick has experienced that first hand in Germany when his team reached the Basketball Champions League Final Four.
“I think all of us represent our leagues respectively. I’ve gotten a number of messages from opponents that I didn’t expect to get messages from. But I think we do have an understanding that we represent each other. I’ve sent messages to Ulm who is our bitter rival, local rival and when either of us plays an international game, we’ll get congratulations,” the coach said at the pre-tournament press conference while also handing out praise to the opponents and showing big respect for fellow coaches.
His player Jonas Wohlfarth Bottermann shared the excitement of being in the Final Four.
“The energy is great. We are all super happy to be here. This is the second time for Ludwigsburg in the Final Four and the whole club is really excited. We have deep respect for our opponents but we also stand confident.”
On the other side, coach Pedro Martinez praised back Ludwigbsurg and welcomes the challenge.
“We are very similar. We have big respect for our opponent who has a very clear identity. They forced the other team to play in a different way than they like and that usually leads to success. They have a good combination of young and veteran players. It’s very clear when you look at them that they play in the same direction with a very well-coached team. For us, it’s going to be a great proof, to demonstrate if we are ready to compete against a very good team both offensively and defensively.”
Jou Guillem also talked about the locker room atmosphere, seeing mixed-up reactions.
“It’s our first time playing the Final Four, the first time for the club. We have some guys who are very excited and some who’ve remained calm. We will see this energy tomorrow and I hope we can enjoy the weekend.”