Vardar – Veszprém pregame statements

On Saturday, at 4 pm MVM Veszprém will take part in Champions League quarter final in Skopje. This year we have to play against Vardar Skopje and fight for the third participation in a row in the Final Four in Cologne. Both games will be broadcast by Sport1. We asked Coach Xavi Sabaté, Péter Gulyás, Máté Lékai, and Ivan Sliskovic about the upcoming away game.

 

 

Xavi Sabaté: This is going to be a hard game. Vardar is constantly improving in season with the help of their head coach. Their team is made up of excellent players and the atmosphere is great in the arena. I know it will be hard to defeat them but we will do everything we can. I’m sure that if we could succeed in every aspect then we can gain victory but we have to fight hard. In the SEHA League final we played well against Vardar, I think, even if we didn’t had the greatest start. And it’s always hard to decrease the disadvantage againts a team like Vardar but we did it which proved our great performance. If there is one thing we should improve, it is having a better start.

 

 

Péter Gulyás: I’m expecting a hard match; we have to concentrate on our defensive strategies in particular. Considering the Hungarian Cup semi-final, I think we need to help our back players make their shots efficient. We have played against Vardar several times so far this year but I think both teams can reveal new strategies. We really want to take part in Final4 again and we might make a big step this Saturday.

  

 

Máté Lékai: This is probably the most important week in this season so we have to prepare well for the upcoming game. It will be a difficult task to defeat Vardar because their team is excellent, their fans are fantastic and support their favourite team as usual. We have to focus on the defensive as well as the offensive strategies because their fast breaks tend to be quite dangerous. I believe that our team can succeed in the game and have a great achievement right in the first away game.

 

 

Ivan Sliskovic: I think it will be a hard game because Vardar always performs great on home court and their fans have a good effect on them. Of course we are aware how much these two matches mean for our and their team. The aim is the participation in the Final4 but it’s hard to make it come true so we need to give an outstanding performance, I think we can do it. The first game will be really important since the result will affect the second one. I think we have very good chances to succeed on Saturday because we have been training a lot and well.