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FRAN VAZQUEZ, center
"I just took the court, but I’m calm. Right now I feel like I am playing another important game. It’s a great feeling. We can’t be nervous against a team like CSKA. I will try to enjoy the experience, and the best way to do that is to win the Euroleague title at the end of the weekend. Like I always say, we have to play our brand of basketball and be intense at both ends. We don't have to lose our heads trying to do something different. We must keep our cool if they have a good scoring run. We have to keep playing and never give up."
GIANLUCA BASILE, center
"We have a lot of options ready, because it is tough to say how the game will be. We have to be ready for anything, just in case both teams score fluidly early or pressure makes us be a bit nervous at the beginning of the game. The rhythm can be very different from that everyone expects. Langdon is a very fast player who can score in many ways and we have to be ready to stop him. Of course, Siskauskas is a great player, but we don't have to focus on him only. We play against CSKA, not against Siskauskas or Langdon. This is not tennis. We play five-on-five on court and we all have to contribute and play as a team. We know that what we have to do to win and this is what we will try to show."
ROGER GRIMAU, guard
"Nobody can deny that CSKA Moscow is a huge team. They are the defending champions and it would be foolish to think that this will be some sort of walk in the park for us. However, as our coach has said some times, we know that we belong here, and that we are a strong team, too. So instead of trying to focus too much on the rival, our main goal has to be doing our thing and trying to impose our rhythm in the game. At this time of the season all you can think about is starting the game. These kind of moments seem to go on forever and you want to get it over with and just start the warm up and start playing. Obviously there are a lot of expectations because this is the greatest moment in the best European competition, so everybody is watching us and you cannot but want to start the action right away. As team captain you don't really have to say anything different from the other days, we just have to keep our tension and will to win. I think that a deciding factor against CSKA will be starting the game tough and with good concentration, because it can be fatal if we let them build some margins in the opening minutes. It will be just a regular game, but of course, the prize this time is bigger. I cannot deny that I have dreamed of myself lifting the trophy because I really want it, but I try not to think about it as that is only the last step of a long way that is ahead of us."
VICTOR SADA, guard
"I think that the will to win is what can make you go through the difficult times in games like these. We are not scared of CSKA, because this year we played against the best teams in Europe and we have showed everybody that we deserve to be here in Berlin to play for the title. Of course, we respect CSKA a lot. They are a superb team with an experienced coach who are here to defend their title from last season, but we cannot go into the game thinking that they are better than us, because that will cause us to lose this semifinal. We have to try to play the game we have been playing so far. We know that the Final Four is an extraordinary situation and that the nerves can cause you to commit mistakes. We will have to avoid that and focus on starting the game strong and on the outside shooting. I also think that our frontcourt can really hurt them, but at the same time we have to watch out for their key players, who can kill you at any given moment."
DANIEL SANTIAGO, center
“Before every game I’m always excited. But who wouldn’t want to be here? We just have to go out there and play hard. We have to play our game like we always do. Sometimes it’s when you look for surprises and do something irregular that you get into trouble. You never know. Maybe one player has a great game and another has an off night and that decides the game. You just have to go and do what you learned all season.” |
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TRAJAN LANGDON, guard
“The butterflies are less and less every year. It’s always exciting though. As you get older, you lose the youthful awe or ignorance, but gain important experience. The keys to the game against Barcelona are defense, rebounding and limiting our turnovers. They have a dynamic offense and we have to make it difficult for them. Can’t give them any easy looks. Our guards have to help our bigs any way we can. To get in there, box out, do whatever we can.
SASHA KAUN, center
“Everyone knows that these are two big teams. For me it’s important to know my role. To have a mindset that I’m prepared, even if my role is small or I don’t play. Coach has been talking to me for the last month about my playing time. If there’s an opportunity, I have to take it. We have faced some great players this season, but nothing like Barcelona. Their frontline is deep and athletic. Our guards can help us by putting pressure on the ball and helping with the pick-and-rolls, but they also have very good guards to deal with. Mental toughness, rebounding and defense are the keys to the game. It sounds simple. We can’t make mistakes and can’t let them run.”
ZORAN PLANINIC, guard
"Everything has already been said about this game. Barcelona is a great team that has been in the elite of European basketball for decades. They have a lot of guys that can run and shoot. We have to stop their fast break and try to play five-on-five basketball. As for my matchup against Lakovic, I played against Barcelona a lot in the last two years and he is a great contributor to their offense. We need to play collective defense and try to stop them all, not only him."
RAMUNAS SISKAUSKAS, forward
"We will try to win again with CSKA of course. There are four teams that are great and very strong and each of them has the same chances to win the Euroleague title. We will try of course, but we cannot think about the game on Sunday because if we think too much about it, we might be playing early in the third place game. Our opponent now is Barcelona. They have been showing throughout the season that they are a strong team that deserves to be in this Final Four. As always, in such emotional games like this, the small details become important factors that, by themselves, can decide the outcome of the game. So we will have to stay real focused against their scorers and big men, because they are a solid team at all positions. However, we took our playoff series in three games and that also shows that we arrive here in Berlin in a good moment, so we will just have to wait until the final buzzer to see who gets to the big game."
VIKTOR KHRYAPA, forward
"You have to play well in defense if you want to have the chance to beat a team like Regal FC Barcelona. All four teams are in a one-game situation in the Final Four, and it doesn't matter how good you were during the season. What you did in the past doesn't count anymore and you need to play well right away. The matchups around the baskets will be very important tomorrow. When you think about a team like Barcelona, everybody thinks about their good shooters like Navarro, Basile or Lakovic. They also have good, good big guys. Letting them play inside cannot be a good thing for us. Players like Ilyasova or Andersen can also hit from outside. We have to limit them and prevent them at least from doing one of these two things, shooting or scoring inside. We will try to play well in defense and do like we always do in offense." |
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