Valencia Basket- U-BT Cluj-Napoca post-game quotes: Pedro Martínez

“We played well, and we are happy about that. Now we are thinking about the next game. In a match like this, you expect the players to be in good mood, focused, and tough on defense. But you also know that the good moments won’t last for 40 minutes, because the opponent won’t let you. It’s also true that bad moments never last 40 minutes either. So, there are good moments and bad moments. We started very well with three-point shooting. In the game, we began with some rushed shots, but we were making them. We built a lead in the first quarter and were very good in terms of rhythm and defense. Cluj-Napoca was already aware of what had happened in the regular league game, and I think they were very tough, very aggressive, and very good. So, the game didn’t break open. In the third quarter, we were less accurate, taking the same or even better shots than in the first quarter, but we missed them. They also changed their defense, and when they went to a switching defense, they made things difficult for us in the second quarter, and they got back into the game. In the second quarter, they hit five three-pointers with a good percentage, and they kept making them in the third. They are a good team, and they showed great mentality, but I think in the last quarter, with Stephens missing and us rotating more, the game became too long for them, and in the last quarter, we managed to break it open again. The second and third quarters were very close, which was expected. We are very happy with our start, which allowed us to gain confidence and get a lead that wasn’t decisive, as we saw, but it helped us a lot.”