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 Panathinaikos head coach Zeljko Obradovic: "The Euroleague Top 16 is always difficult. We are talking about the best 16 teams of the competition, so it is not important against whom you have to play. All 16 competitors have high motivation to get the highest position possible and make the playoffs, so we have to be prepared for six battles. Montepaschi Siena is a very good team, while Efes Pilsen has many foreign players and generally showed high quality. As for Partizan Belgrade, we have faced them twice in the regular season, so we know how tough they are as a team. Knowing how important the Top 16 is, Panathinaikos will be ready to face each opponent at a time and fight for every single basket, which can be very crucial at the end."
Panathinaikos guard, Dimitris Diamantidis: "We have a strong group and nothing is easy. Siena and Efes Pilsen are really tough, while Partizan made us sufferi when we played against them in the regular season. Our first goal is to start with a road victory in Istanbul and then make everything possible in order to get the first place and defend our title. Meanwhile, I hope that we can play much better basketball and show our potential."
Panathinaikos team manager Manos Papadopoulos: "We had a strong group again for the Top 16. However, our goal is to take the title again and that will only depend on us and how we play."
Simone Pianigiani Montepaschi Siena head coach: "Panathinaikos is one the favorite teams and not only because they are the champions. Once again we’ll be in a very tough group. Efes and Partizan are two strong teams as well and to win on the road in their court is very difficult for everybody. But we are in the Top 16 and it is normal to face very competitive teams. I only hope to have the team in a good shape. It is good sensation to be here for the fourth time in the last six years. For sure we’ll do our best."
Montepaschi Siena forward Shaun Stonerook: "It is not so bad to face Panathinaikos in the Top 16. We have the skill to close the group first or second. In this case we will avoid the Greek team in the quarterfinals. But in our group there are other two strong teams. So we must not underestimate anybody. We already showed during the regular season to be a tough team. Our last victory in Athens against Olympiacos gave us much confidence. Our plan? Win three games at home and "steal" at least one on the road. We can do that."
Efes Pilsen head coach David Blatt: "What can I say? I’ve seen a lot of Top 16 games and for me they are all very exciting and interesting. Some predictable, others less so. But it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense trying to predict the results. It seems good play will determine who will come out of each group. And for me the fans of the Euroleague have a lot to look forward from in this Top 16 draw."
Efes Pilsen center Ermal Kuqo: "It's a nice draw for sure. I mean that it’s good to stay away from the dangerous teams like Olympiacos and CSKA Moscow. Especially Olympiacos was the one which I’m expecting a big explosion from in the Top 16. Of course the teams playing in this round proved that they are all good. It’s good to start with a win or wins for our future plans. It’s a kind of draw which we were expecting. But one of the best things of that draw is that I will have a chance to play against my great pal Niksa Prkacin of Panathinaikos."
Efes Pilsen general manager Cenk Arastiran: "After the regular season, the best 16 teams are here and you cannot expect any easy games at all. Efes Pilsen has the power to quality to the quarterfinals in this group and will fight because this is our character. We always fight everywhere. We play the first two games at home and that is believed to be an advantage. Our main goal is to survive the Top 16, make it to the quarterfinals playoff and be able to come back to Madris for the Final Four."
Partizan Igokea head coach Dusko Vujosevic: "It’s a very interesting group. Panathinaikos is the Euroleague champ with the highest ranking, a team with a lot of international stars. In my opinion, Montepaschi was the strongest team in the second group. We were lucky because in the third group there was Barcelona and we missed them. But Efes Pilsen is an extremely strong team. Our job is going to be very tough. Partizan is the youngest team in the Euroleague with 11 domestic players and only one American. We’ve made fantastic success just reaching the Top 16 phase. But we have motivation and a wish not to stop there. Our players shall have the need to prove their ranking and I hope we are able to make our fans happy."
Partizan Igokea guard Dusan Kecman: "It’s an extremly strong group. We know very well Panathinaikos. We played two games in the [regular season] group and we narrowly lost both. Montepaschi is playing team basketball and in my opinion the Italian champ is the prettiest surprise of the first Euroleague phase. Efes Pilsen is an extremely inconvenient team. Anyway, there are six hard games in front of us. We have the task to give our best to prove that we deserved a place among the Top 16 Euroleague teams."
Partizan Igokea Sports Director Predrag Danilovic: "For Partizan, being in the Top 16 is already a success. The only thing I can say right now is that we will try not to be the easy team on our group." |
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Lietuvos Rytas head coach Alexander Trifunovic: "I had said before the season and I can repeat it now that there are no weak teams in the Euroleague. Furthermore, there are no weak teams in the Top 16. Teams that got through here are deeply motivated, ambitious, have strong rosters and specific goals. We know Aris perfectly, while Tau Ceramica and Fenerbahce Ulker are very experienced teams. It's not going to be easy but I think we can reach the quarterfinals."
Lietuvos Rytas general manager Jonas Vainauskas: "It was agreat draw in which all teams are competitive. I am sure we will be able to see great basketball games and with a bit of luck, we will qualify for the next stage. It is a very balanced group, with three good opponents and everyone has a chance. I hope that we keep playing they way we did throughout the regular season and become one of the top 2 teams to advance to the playoffs. The first game at home against Tau Ceramica is the most important in the Euroleague so far, as a win would get us closer to our goal. We cannot make mistakes in the Top 16. Our good results are not a coincidence. We will be a serious opponent for everyone."
Tau Ceramica general director Carlos Izar: "We managed to avoid CSKA and Panathinaikos in this group, so it is kind of open and anybody can win anywhere. We all can finish first in this group. We will do our best to win and get the home court advantage in the playoffs. We play in three very difficult courts, packed with diehard fans that not basketball very well. At the same time, we will be backed with our big fans in Vitoria, as we have become a place with great basketball tradition. We would need to be a team like Panathinaikos to guarantee a win in those courts. We have to go there to compete not thinking about the audience."
Fenerbahce Ulker head coach Bogdan Tanjevic: "We were in the hardest group in the regular season and it’s only good to have this group, when you compare it to the previous one. Lietuvos Rytas and Tau Ceramia have the experience of challenging at those kind of top levels. But I cannot underestimate Aris TT Bank, too. They renewed their rosters with some great talents. So it’s going to be at least as hard as the first phase. We are a young, but very good team, too. And we are ready to challenge with all those great teams."
Damir Kaan Fenerbahce Ulker guard: "There are all the best teams in the Top 16 and you can never choose an opponent, but only can wish to keep far from the candidates of the title. So if we take this draw from that point of view, I can say that it’s a good draw. At least, we had a better draw than the beginning of the season for sure. Of course, we are a good team, too. Especially when we are at home, with the support of our great fans, it’s not easy for our opponents to beat us. The second thing makes me hopeful for the future is that we are expecting our injured players back in this stage. We will be much stronger with the guys whom were out for more than couple of weeks."
Aris TT Bank general manager Ioannis Damianidis: "First of all, I think it is a big honour for Aris TT Bank to reach the Top 16 for the second consecutive year. We are facing a group with a very high level and are expecting tough games. What I actually know is that my team will fight for each game. We will go as far as I can. This is great for our fans, players and the club. It is big to reach the Top 16 in two consecutive years. Some very good teams are not even in the Euroleague."
Aris TT Bank head coach Gordon Herbert: "I think that we were lucky in the draw. We couldn?t expect anything better than this group. In my opinion, the group is really open and I believe that we have many chances to qualify for the next round. We are really comfortable being among the best 16 teams in Europe and we are looking forward to set and achieve our next target. As regards to our rivals in the group, all are very well known and strong teams but not unbeatable. What is necessary now is to take one game at a time, stay focused and play as a team in every aspect of the game. This is the key to success!"
Aris TT Bank forward Jeremiah Massey: "The lottery-wheel treated us nicely. We are about to face three very strong teams but I am confident that we are capable to beat all of them. In comparison to our draw last year, now we have many more chances to make it to the quarterfinals as we are a better team and our team spirit is higher as well. Team is finding its chemistry day by day and I feel that its time to work hard and stand up to exploit the opportunity to qualify." |
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 Real Madrid head coach Joan Plaza: "It makes no difference who you play when you reach this level, because all teams are strong. In our group we have teams like Maccabi and Olympiacos who have more recent Final Four history than us. I am not worried about who I will play against but about who I will play with, because we have two serious injuries at center and we have to try to find a replacement for Venson Hamilton and Lazaros Papadopoulos as soon as we can to overcome the first obstacles."
Real Madrid sports director Alberto Herreros: "It is a very difficult group, of course, but our only goal is to finish first and get the home court advantage in the playoffs. We have facing tough opponents but we are ready to give our best to be in the playoffs and of course in the Final Four. No team is more motivated than us, of course, as the Final Four is in Madrid. We try to keep everyone focused, as we all want to be there."
Maccabi Elite head coach Zvika Sherf: "I just received the results of the draw, so it's still difficult for me to comment on the draw. For sure it's not an easy group, and also the schedule of the games seems very tough, but we don't have any excuses. This is reality and we'll need to face it. Nothing we can do about it. We start on the road against Olympiacos and they just changed a coach so we'll need to see how will that affect them. We'll give our best to make it to the quarterfinals."
Shimon Mizrahi, Maccabi Elite chairman: "Every team that qualified for the Top 16 is an excellent team. I think it we have a very hard group with Real Madrid, Zalgiris Kaukans and Olympiacos. We will try to qualify for one of the top two places to reach the quarterfinals. It wont be easy, but I think that we can do it."
Zalgiris head coach Rimantas Grigas: "There are no easy opponents in the Top 16. It's just a pity that we got Olympiacos from the fourth pot. We wanted to avoid them because it is one of strongest teams in the Euroleague. With Yannakis as a new coach that team will be very hard to beat for everybody. Real and Maccabi are also very strong and we have very serious competition ahead of us."
Zalgiris Kaunas guard Marcus Brown: "It's a tough group. At the Top 16, we have to respect all the opponents, so I can’t say do I like the draw or not. I wasn't expecting anything easy at this stage of competition. We have to get to the court and play those teams we got in our group. All teams in Group F have great tradition in basketball."
Zalgiris general manager Gediminas Navikauskas: "I think that Draw was not good for us because we got three different opponents such as Real Madrid, Maccabi Elite and Olympiacos. We are set to play six very tough games and will hopefully manage to finish in one of the top 2 spots to stay alive in the competition. We wish we could have been placed in an easier group, but all 16 teams are very strong and making it to the playoffs will be difficult for everybody. We hope to stay strong in Kaunas and get at least one win on the road to make it to the next round."
Olympiacos guard Manolis Papamakarios: "Since we were at the lowest level, we knew we would face teams with higher record in the regular season. So, we were prepared that the draw would be like this. We have faced Zalgiris Kaunas and know their positives and negatives. Real Madrid is a team with high quality with an extra motivation, since the Final Four will be held in Madrid, while Maccabi Tel Aviv is a traditional power, which has been improved after Svi Sherf's arrival and has many capable players. We have ten days to be prepared for Game 1, so the sooner we understand coach Giannakis' philosophy the better for us. With patience and without noisy statements we will accomplish our mission. Our goal is to make the Euroleague playoffs and why not, to get the first place of Group F."
Olympiacos general manager Christos Stavropoulos: "As in the regular season, when all 24 teams were tough, I think this is the same for the Top 16. All the teams are really good teams, so we must be ready at the right moment to play against all the teams we have in our group. We are happy we have the target to be here in the Final Four. This is our target from the beginning of the season. Now we have a new coach, Panagiotis Giannakis. We believe that he can bring Olympiacos to the top of the competition. I believe that the top of the competition is the natural position of Olympiacos. The history and the name of Panagiotis are amazing, though maybe we need hours and hours to talk about him." |
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CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina: "We ended up in a very difficult group. If we qualify to the playoffs, we have cross with the teams from another difficult group. I feel there is a little misbalance between our part of the league and the first two groups. But we knew our way to the final stages of the Euroleague could not be an easy one. I hope strong rivals would push our players mentally."
CSKA Moscow guard Theo Papaloukas: "The adventure begins! Compared to Roma, Barcelona and Malaga look more dangerous, but we have to pay attention in every given game. I think that everything depends on us and we have a good chance to go all the way. CSKA Moscow always has big goals, so we have to do the best possible to stay on top."
CSKA Moscow CEO Andrei Vatutin: "It is a very difficult group with two teams we met last season, as we played against Barcelona in the regular season and then against Unicaja in the Final Four. Maybe it is an advantage that we play the opening two games at home but on the other side, it is additional pressure, too. We had a very good experience to play in the new arena. We increased the attendance up to almost three times than at Universal Sports Arena but we have to consider some more details, becaude it is not actually our home arena. We cannot practice in there. The decision will be taken in the neat future, taking into account marketing and basketball considerations."
Juan Manuel Rodriguez Unicaja Sports Director: "I think that we have not been lucky, because we are in a tough group with CSKA Moscow, Barcelona and Lottomatica Roma. CSKA is the clear favorite. We will try with all our effort to be in second and we will have fight with the other three teams. I think that there are two very strong group, F with Real Madrid, Maccabi Elite, Zalgiris and Olympiacos and then ours with CSKA, AXA FCB and Lottomatica Roma. There is a favourite like CSKA, that is the team to beat in this group without any kind of doubt. We will have to fight for the remaining spot with Barcelona and Roma. We play our opening two games on the road but even with that, we have the experience of reaching the Final Four last season and we will give our best, just as usual."
AXA FC Barcelona general manager Zoran Savic: "We could have imagined the composition of our group before the draw, but now it's clear. This is a tough group, but it may become easy in the near future. I think that Groups D and E are more difficult than the other two. We start with two games away, but we will play at home three of the last four games. There is no easy team in the Top 16. All of them have quality and potential. I hope that Olympiacos will manage the things in the proper way and we will make it."
Lottomatica Roma head coach Jasmin Repesa: "CSKA Moscow are a team made up to win the Euroleague. They are very strong and have great talent, but that doesn't mean we will go to Moscow for our opening game showing a white flag. We will battle like we have done in the regular season. It is a very strong group, but then again when you are in the Top 16, there are no easy rivals. I think it's going to be a beautiful challenge for my young roster. We played well against Barcelona, whom we beat on the road last month. It was a very close and intense game. With regards to whether we will reinforce our team before the Top 16, I can't say much at the moment. But what is clear is that having had to rely on seven or eight players due to our injury woes, we have lost a lot of energy."
Lottomatica Roma general manager Dejan Bodiroga: "It is a tough group for us in which CSKA is the clear favorite team. AXA FC Barcelona and Unicaja are also tough teams so I hope we will be physically well. We are really excited to be in this top 16. I think the key for us will try to be strong at home and then just try to play relaxed on the road." |
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Monday, February 04, 2008
Euroleague.net
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