Sasa Obradovic, head coach of Crvena Zvezda, spoke to the media after his team’s victory over Fenerbahce in Round 31 of the EuroLeague.
Crvena Zvezda managed to stop Fenerbahce’s impressive run of 19 consecutive wins across all competitions, securing an important victory in Belgrade that could prove crucial in the race for the playoffs.
Claim Now On the victory against Fenerbahce
“Congratulations to both teams. I think this was a typical playoff game. Tough from start to finish. I’m happy because we stopped their winning streak. It’s an important win for our confidence and for what comes next.”
On early foul trouble for Butler and Nwora
Jared Butler and Jordan Nwora both picked up two fouls in the first half, but Sasa Obradovic emphasized the depth of his roster.
“It’s good that we are not just Butler and Nwora. We can rely on a large number of players and win in many different ways. The game just went that way… Maybe we also have some disruption in our chemistry. We also have to integrate Carter into the game. His legs are missing and some of the things expected from him. Then we will have even better continuity in our play. We raised the level of defense in the second half and that gave us easy points. That’s the kind of team we are. If we enter the game with high energy, we have a chance against anyone. If that energy is lower, we can lose to anyone. We know that.
We also lost a bit of rhythm compared to the Cup. Half the team trained and half didn’t. This win means a lot for our confidence moving forward. Every win is important, the most important one, but it feels good to beat the European champion and find a way to stop their winning streak. We found a way to win and we deserved it. We will take experience from this game.”
On the difference compared to the Bayern game
“Butler has the team’s trust and I trust him as well. He has points in his hands and can score in many different ways. We didn’t enter the game with Bayern with the right energy and I will always say that. This was a defensively won game and that’s the only way to win big games. That wasn’t the case against Bayern – a completely different game.
That Bayern loss can cost us, but this brings back confidence. Favorite or not, the pressure was big because of that slip. You simply had to win. The important thing is that we kept finding ways. Against Barcelona or Zalgiris we always found a way and that gives special quality to a team.”
On Codi Miller-McIntyre’s performance
Codi Miller-McIntyre finished the game with 12 assists and came close to a triple-double.
“I would prefer that someone else also had assists. Codi played very maturely and intelligently and paid attention to everything. At the end of the game he was excellent in targeting the player we wanted to attack and in organizing the offense. He was two rebounds away from a triple-double, which would have been phenomenal and I think he deserved it. Once again he showed that he is one of the key players on both ends of the floor and I’m happy for him. He is the main guy who gathers the team together and you could see that. He showed real leadership in this game.”
On regaining energy after difficult losses
“We were all aware that things were not good and that something had to change. It was already different against Cluj-Napoca. I have to highlight the players who played, but also those who didn’t. The atmosphere was good and that transferred to every practice. The support was great. We had some time to recover and prepare, which often isn’t the case during the EuroLeague schedule.”
On Nikola Kalinic’s condition
“Why Kalinic? Nothing, everything is okay with him.”
On Tyson Carter’s return
Tyson Carter recently returned after a long absence.
“He definitely lacks legs and you can see he doesn’t have that speed yet. He has entered a phase where he will improve. Every game is important for him, and every game is important for us to win. It’s difficult because we depend on every game and it’s important that we play well. You can see that in the future he will be a good reinforcement.”
On the team’s assist numbers and free-throw struggles
“If I were to talk about all the adjustments to the team or the profiles inside it, I would probably reveal things that my opponents shouldn’t know. I think I adapted well. The idea is to put players in a comfortable zone. Whether those are simple systems or continuous movement is not important. If we play our game with energy, especially on defense, we have a chance against anyone until the end of the season.
The team has good character for sure. We have to work on consistency in both play and results. Breaks obviously cause us problems and the EuroLeague is unpredictable. The results confirm that. That’s also the beauty of it. This EuroLeague might be the strongest in terms of quality and competitiveness.”
On the fourth quarter performance
“If there are no continuous movements, we know what gave us easy points. We are talking about strong defense. It’s hard to play almost 100 games always at a high level. We know the path, we talk about it constantly and we are dedicated to it.”
After this victory, Crvena Zvezda now holds an 18–13 record and will face Panathinaikos on the road in the next EuroLeague round.
