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Oded Kattash, the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, spoke to the media after his team’s defeat to Barcelona in the 10th round of the EuroLeague.
With this loss, the Israeli team now has a 5-4 record in the EuroLeague, and they are set to face Real Madrid in Belgrade on Tuesday to play the postponed match from the sixth round.
“A painful loss for us. I had the feeling that we played the way we should, especially on offense. I think we also played well defensively in the first 20 minutes and should have had a better halftime result,” Oded Kattash began and added:
“In the second half, we managed to come back after facing some problems. We’re missing a few players, that’s basketball. We were close, a few bad decisions on our part, but also some calls from the referees that disadvantaged us on several occasions.”
Maccabi cannot play games in Tel Aviv due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and the coach, known as the “pride of Israel,” emphasizes the extent of this handicap.
“It’s obvious that last season we had the best home court, we had the best record in the EuroLeague. We need the energy of people from Israel, that atmosphere is very special for us. However, just because we don’t have it now, we have to be even more focused. We’ve found a way to win some games, but of course, we miss the fans.”
It’s not easy for the players to play games thousands of kilometers away from home.
“It’s not just challenging in a basketball sense. I think this is not a normal situation, and it certainly affects the players. But this is the current challenge; we have to respond to it. I believe this season will strengthen us both as individuals and as a basketball team,” concluded Oded Kattash.