Gianmarco Pozzecco (coach of Asvel, beaten by Bayern Munich): “It was a huge, incredible event (about the inauguration of the new hall). Everything was almost perfect. Of course we made a lot of mistakes, but there is something that I can’t understand, which drives me a little crazy: it was not the players who decided the fate of the match (offensive foul called against Joffrey Lauvergne 2 seconds from the end offering the free throw to win in Munich). Let them decide who wins or loses. It’s not the same thing to whistle (a foul) a few seconds from the end as in the first quarter. I am sad for my players. They are not happy, frustrated and it hurts me.
Edwin Jackson (Asvel fullback): “In the last Euroleague matches, the standoff at the end did not swing in our favor. It’s frustrating even if when we watch our matches, we see that there is progress. We feel like we’ve won the match three times, even though we lost it. Even if the victory was not there, I think we made people want to come back at least for the spectacle on offer. The team is progressing and I hope that playing in a room where there is more noise, with an impact on the opponent, will work in our favor in the future. We must continue to work and take responsibility for these encounters that escape us in the end. Our waste? I think it’s mostly due to nervousness about playing in a new venue.”
Gaëtan Muller (delegate president of Asvel): “Of course it’s frustrating, but we still have to keep a positive vision. We gave people joy, they responded. We would have liked it to work out for us but we had an exceptional evening, even if the result was frustrating. This is the beginning of a new era.”
Comments collected at a press conference and mixed zone