By Rizwan Rehmat
DOHA: Basketball powerhouse Al Rayyan take on El Jaish in their first play-off game tomorrow but coach Koufos Stergios declined to accept that their opponents would be easy to beat.
Al Rayyan, the defending champions, face El Jaish in the second game of the play-offs tomorrow.
On the same day Al Gharafa will face Al Sadd at Al Ghafara Indoor Hall in the opening clash of the basketball play-offs series.
Stergios said all four sides cannot be taken lightly.
“What you do in the regular season is one thing but playing in the play-offs is another deal altogether,” Stergios said.
“The final four sides are the best teams and there won’t be any easy games,” Stergios. “Obviously we are more than ready for this game. I can promise you that my players will give their best,” Stergios said.
“I urge our fans to come out in large numbers and support their teams. It will be very exciting basketball,” Stergios said.
“I am the newest among the four coaches you see here,” Stergios said. “But I would say I am more than happy to be in this position,” the Al Rayyan coach said.
“I believe we will get quality basketball during the play-offs. Qatar basketball gets better when we have better competition,” he said.
El Jaish coach Dragoslav Milovanovic said he was concerned about the list of injured players in his team.
“This is the top most level of basketball and for you to do well, one has to have fit players. We have injuries. But we will try to be competitive all the way,” Milovanovic said.
“What I have said is true. We have a number of injuries,” Milovanovic said. “From the beginning we thought we’d have our best players fit but some of them did not even play one game,” Milovanovic said.
“In this moment, my team is not in a good position. But mentally we are ready to play. It is a big challenge to play the play-offs. We have played many games in the past.
“The games between our two sides have been exciting. We hope to do something. We are optimistic,” Milovanovic said.
Al Rayyan manager Aljlan Amezi said: “Al Rayyan is used to be in top spot. I can’t expect my team to be second. El jaish is not in a bad position. They have the power players but I am sure we will do well against them.”
Al Gharafa coach Koussay Hatem said hsi team was geared up for some explosive basketball against arch-rivals Al Sadd.
“We are proud to be in the final four. Our form in the regular season helped us reach this said. We can go further,” Hatem said.
“We believe in team work. We don’t look at the other sides or teams. We look at our own performances and we seek to improve our game,” Hatem said.
“We only care about our own performances,” Hatem said. “We will do it our way. We are the best in defense. We hope to up the ante in attack also,” Hatem said.
Al Sadd coach Zoran Kreckovic said his team was better prepared for the 2015-16 play-offs compared to last year.
“When you look at the two seasons, we feel we are in a better spot now,” Kreckovic said.
“We are thrilled to have reached the play-offs because we had problems at the start of the season,” he added.
“We started season without much preparations and to have reached the play-offs is pleasing. I didn’t expect we’d play so well for so long,” he said.
“The level of play of Al Gharafa is better than before. It is better than last year. In the last game, our approach was selfish and as a coach, I should know why we played like that,” he said during a press conference.
“But I am confident we will play better in the player-offs. If you are better prepared, you will win. It is that simple,” Kreckovic said. Al Gharafa coach Hatem said: “We will do everything in our power to win the league. We are a young side and Al Sadd have aging players.”
The Peninsula
