Just before heading to Germany to play Bamberg in the Euroleague, watch the Latvian coach and the point guard reflect on the situation without Sonny Weems. Bagatskis: “We lost a good professional”. Mekel: “He was a key player but the show must go on”
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On Sunday Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv will head to Jerusalem for a big matchup against the rivals Hapoel, currently seeded 3rd with a 10 – 7 record in the Israeli league, compared to Maccabi’s 13 – 3 record at the number 1 spot in the standings. But before that, Maccabi will play Brose Bamberg in Germany in round 21 of the Euroleague hoping to avenge a big home loss, 70 – 85 in the teams’ previous encounter.
Head coach, Ainars Bagatskis: “Most important to me is that in practice the last two days players were in a good mood, were aggressive. I, as the coach, can only take responsibility for what happens in the gym, not outside of it. I’m disappointed that we just lost a good professional player in Sonny, as I think in my time here we found the right balance with him. But we can’t control that. Bamberg has not 1 or 2 stars – it’s a really, really good team, playing together for 4 years. They have leaders in every position. The star of the team is the team”.
Gal Mekel: “In a shorter rotation players will need to produce extra, but sometimes a shorter rotation is good with more minutes and confidence. We’re going to play in a tough place against a well-coached team that played great in the first game in Tel Aviv.
Our mentality right now is “the show must go on”. We’re professionals. There are things you can’t do as a player in any sport, especially not in a club at such a high level like us. Sonny was one of our main players but it’s a deep position in our team and I’m sure others will step up”.
