Vanja Marinkovic, a player for Baskonia, spoke to the media about his team’s convincing defeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the context of the EuroLeague and the play-in.
Baskonia suffered a defeat against the “Pride of Israel” by 113:85, but they will have another chance to qualify for the playoffs. They will play at home, and their opponent will be Virtus, who celebrated win in Istanbul against Anadolu Efes.
“We played terribly from the start. We began the game without energy. They opened with three good shots, Brown started excellently, then Baldwin joined in. We played weak defense against them. When you start like that, it’s hard to come back. We had some bursts, but Maccabi Tel Aviv is a great team, they have a deep rotation. And that’s it. A bad game for us indeed. But we have another chance. We’re playing at home.”
Vanja Marinkovic also touched on his team’s upcoming game, which they will play against Virtus.
“I think Virtus suits us more. They are in a bit of a slump, while Anadolu Efes is on the rise. They are a good team with good individuals. And it’s obvious that playing against such teams doesn’t suit us. Just like Maccabi Tel Aviv was today, and even Anadolu Efes, from whom we lost at home, quite easily. We definitely need to enter that game with better energy, today was really, really bad. There’s a lot at stake.