Maccabi’s head coach added, “Papaloukas had a fantastic game.” The Greek point guard, who helped bring Maccabi back from a 17 point deficit to a 70 – 66 victory, said “My teammates are happier than I am that I played well; it makes me want more.”
By Amy Samin
Barcelona’s 63 – 62 victory over Cantù helped guarantee Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s spot in the Top 8, and head coach David Blatt knows very well things will not be easy in the future. “The truth is, we’ve recently had a series of tough, important and close games, and it was to be expected that there would be a drop in energy. I was worried it would happen this time, but we got up off the floor and made a comeback. We were four meters under the ground,” Blatt added with a grin. “Our offense wasn’t good but our defense was great. It’s a very sweet victory.”
When asked about the abilities of Theo Papaloukas, who was in large part responsible for Maccabi’s comeback from a 17 point deficit, the coach said, “I think Papaloukas was great. He’s a very experienced player who knows when to step up his game; he deserves a lot of credit for the win. This is the reason we brought him to the team. Papa had a fantastic game and we owe him a lot for this victory.”
When asked why Papaloukas hadn’t gotten much playing time up until now, Blatt answered, “Papa didn’t play because others were playing well. Tonight’s win is thanks in large part to him, but you can see in his character that he doesn’t think of himself, he thinks of the good of the team.”
“It was a very tough game, just like I expected. Not every team can get up off the floor like we did. We got back into the game in the second quarter, and we paid for it in the third quarter because we were tired. We came back one last time and found the strength, the will, and the heart to win the game. It was a real nail-biter. I definitely don’t need to watch suspense movies – I work for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.”
Theo Papaloukas said, “I think everyone played well. Our defense saved us. The most important thing to us is that we won the game. We came back from being down by 17 points; if we had lost this game our Euroleague season would be over. I feel like this was one of our best games, we were mentally strong.”
“It’s not easy for me not to play, I’ve never been in a situation like that. But I have a lot of support from all of the players on the team. My teammates are happier than I am that I played well, and that makes me want more. And of course the support from the fans does, too. I don’t need to prove myself, I’ve done a lot of good things in my career so far. I appreciate what they’re doing for me and I would like to thank them. I don’t know if I deserve that much love from the fans, but I appreciate it.”
Keith Langford: “It wasn’t easy, but it was a credit to this team. Everybody stepped up and played well, so I’m just happy for the team right now.” After Barcelona defeated Cantù and it became clear that Maccabi had qualified for the Top 8, the guard added, “I’m happy. I got the feeling that there were people who didn’t want to see us advance to the quarterfinals. We’ve worked hard and we’re ready for the playoffs. It doesn’t matter who we’ll play, Panathinaikos or Kazan.”
“Everybody played well, and I’m happy about the win and about my block at the end of the game,” said Devin Smith. “Every game is different. We didn’t start the game well, but we improved as it went on and we won.”
