About the game: “I think our team played a little bit beyond its possibility. In the second half, we decided to play our rotations with the idea of seeking athleticism and defensive performance. In my opinion, we were not at the expected level. We played with a small ‘5’, with Micov as a ‘4’, and we worked better on their positional offense in the low post. Barca is a team that is very difficult to play against. Today it was the same, but we managed to turn it over.”

What changed in the second half: “We played a team against which it’s hard to have reference points. You have prepared A or B and after the first half, you realize it would have been better to do B or C. At the break, we talked with the team, and see what we could change or try to do in a different manner. And I have to say that the team paid attention and showed it could be flexible. And that is something to point out because there are many teams that start and finish the game in the same way. And thanks especially to the veterans, these players have the capability to see how things can be changed. So 99 percent of that merit is theirs and I don’t say that to be kind.”

Looking to the future: “Athleticism and physicality are mandatory in order to win at this very high level. This is not a lesson we had to learn, but it is a validation of a concept. They changed the game once more in the fourth period, when they had the discipline to switch defensively with Davies and to pound the ball inside to Nikola Mirotic. We had a great run, we’ll try to add some weapons, even if in terms of possibility we won’t catch the top teams. Organization, vision, improving our players, those are the things we are on the right path, so I’m confident, we’ll be able to keep growing.”