Darius Maskoliūnas praised Estonians and their 19-year-old leader: “He gave us a concert”

It was another tense night for Darius Maskoliūnas in the coach’s chair of the Lithuanian national team.

Although he tried to keep the Olympic calm, the referee’s accusations began to rain at the end of the emotional match, and there was something to be said for his players after the match, in which Estonia won the victory for Lithuania after the extension 92:85 .

Although D.Maskoliūnas spun the eleven-player rotation, giving the opportunity to Marek Blaževičius and Tadas Sedekerskis, who debuted on the national team, the Estonians started the game better, finding their 19-year-old leader.

This time, the Lithuanians seemed cold and moderate compared to the hot Estonians, led by the emotional Kerras Kriisa, who scored 26 points and made 7 assists.

The former Žalgiris resident infested all the players of the Lithuanian national team, regardless of who was standing in front of him: Rokas Jokubaitis, Lukas Lekavičius or Mantas Kalnietis.

The entire Estonian team struggled more, breaking Lithuania in the fight for 48:42 balls.

The arena, started by the players, began to roar in the closing minutes of “Esti, esti” until it finally exploded with excitement during overtime.

Estonian basketball’s 100th anniversary was a success. The guests wanted to ruin everything, but had to leave the table with their heads down.

– Coaches, what thoughts arise after such a game? – D. Maskoliūnas was asked.

– The only positive thing is that we made Estonians a beautiful anniversary holiday. We really didn’t want that, even though the game was beautiful, lots of excitement.

There were many more negatives in the game. Being taller in practically all positions, even in practically all, and certainly in all, we lost the board and gave them to score 23 points for a second chance.

Sometimes they seemed much more willing. Significantly more effort, climbing over heads. Throw 2-3 times in one attack, we cannot remove the ball that is already seen in our hands. He punished us very badly.

Erik Ovcharenko / 15min photo / Darius Maskoliūnas

I told the players that I didn’t survive at all due to missed shots because we didn’t feel the pace of the game for long, those players who had to throw shots. We created a lot of opportunities, despite our players throwing in a poor percentage.

But we did not defend ourselves. We just didn’t defend ourselves, we let them control and run the game. And playing with such a team in your arena to play levels at the end of the game is a lottery. We had the last attack in the last quarter and we were even able to win that lottery, but the guests knew that no one would whistle for penalties with such a pitch.

And Kriisa established an extension, perhaps she wanted to prove that she was worthy of a place in “Žalgiris”, worthy of staying in Kaunas. Great, tested, played very well.

– Dress up Kerra Kriis in “Žalgiris” training. Did he surprise you with something?

– No, that’s why he was training, because we knew what he could do, what emotional leader he was. Even when he joined the men’s team, he didn’t get lost, he feels like a full-fledged leader in this Estonian national team. He played with good emotion, hits shots. And we didn’t stop him with no defense Step by Step That staff gave us a concert.

Erik Ovcharenko / 15min photo / Once Crisis

– How did you feel about Marekas Blaževičius and Tadas Sedekerskis, the debutants of the Lithuanian national team?

– As for Marek, that’s it. OK. Young, first match for the Lithuanian team. At this point, it was obvious that the players of. But he is trying, improving and will be a strong pillar in the Lithuanian national team in the future. So it’s more difficult because we push through some positions, he doesn’t feel his place, although I don’t blame him.

– Regardless of the outcome, how does it feel to experience the emotions of the match?

– Too much fun. A real game is a completely different, even friendly, real emotion. In addition, we had the opportunity to play for the public. It was so much fun being able to try.

– At the end of the game, you grabbed your head several times. Was it a reproach to the judges?

– No, more playful emotion. I have no criticism of the judges.

– Can it be said that Estonians had a similarly greater desire than Belgians? (In February, Belgium damaged D.Maskoliūnas’ debut at the helm of the Lithuanian national team during the start of the European Championship selection)

– Do not compare those matches because there was a qualifier and here is a friendly tournament. The fact that they played at home that they wanted to perform well. Estonians have been training since May, seeing how they feel, how they move in the square. I would not compare them with the Belgians.

– Is there a shortage of leaders in this party, especially at the beginning?

– You see, those leaders played their minutes, they lost good pitches, you saw their percentage, but I don’t blame anyone for that. It is important that you take the initiative. The problem was that we did not defend or fight the ball.

– Does the end of this match change somewhat in terms of Saturday’s match with Latvia?

– Nothing changes. Again in the experiments, we will test the players and different situations.