VIE - SCD

Vienna

Team Compare

SC Derby

Mike Coffin, Vienna head coach:

"We didn’t start the game the way we wanted, especially on offense. We had too many turnovers, and against a team like this, that gives them easy transition points. From the second quarter on, we took much better care of the ball, limited their fast breaks, and moved the ball much better on offense. After the first quarter, our defense was strong overall, and I think that was the key difference tonight. Basketball is a team sport. Some days a matchup works for you, and some days it doesn’t. We felt we had better options today, especially defensively, because of the way they play with bigs rolling to the rim and Rashid being so strong around the basket. In pick-and-roll situations, we felt it was not the best matchup for us tonight. But that’s part of the game. Some nights it’s his night, some nights it’s someone else’s. The most important thing is that we won. As a team, we have to recognize those situations, react the right way, and always do what gives us the best chance to win. We have to understand that when we play with energy, aggression, and full focus, we can compete with anyone. With the right preparation and concentration, we can beat any team. We’ve already shown that this season. The key is to bring full energy, full focus, and full team spirit every time. And if it’s not your day, then you support the next guy, bring positive energy from the bench, and stay fully committed to the team. If we do that and play hard and tough together, we can beat anybody.“

Peter Mijovic, SC Derby head coach:

"We started the game well, followed the game plan, played fast, and found some easy points early. The turning point came when Vienna changed the rhythm with their match-up zone. We lost our flow, missed some shots, and allowed them to run and score easy points. In the second half, both teams played well. We got back within one possession and improved our one-on-one defence, especially against Jarambovskas and Pavicevic. But we missed easy layups, gave up tough threes, and in the end, 17 turnovers and their offensive rebounds made the difference. That has been one of our biggest problems all season. Still, we will keep fighting. The next game is another do-or-die moment, and I believe we deserve to stay in the league. With Boum on the perimeter and Rasid in the low post, Vienna has two players who can create a lot. I think we started quite well against Mahalbasic, and Pavicevic also had a very good game, but many of those situations came from our soft perimeter defence. When your one-on-one defence is not good enough, a team like Vienna punishes you. They created advantages too easily, found him with easy assists, and he got into rhythm with too many points around the basket. That is not only the responsibility of the player guarding him, but of the whole team. Vienna has a lot of individual quality and several players who can create advantages in one-on-one situations. The key moment came early. We were up by nine, but we let them find their rhythm too easily and take control of the game. Later, in the last six or seven minutes, we found a much better rhythm, defended one-on-one better, controlled the defensive rebound, and from that created easier points on offense. But when we made a few wrong decisions and took shots too quickly, Vienna punished us again. We lost our one-on-one defence, they found their rhythm, and that was enough for them to win the game. Vienna deserved the win tonight, and I hope we will be better in the next game in Podgorica.”