D. Masoliūnas, who missed the hearts of the players, after the Danish lesson: “I am guilty, it is my responsibility”

Belgium, Estonia, Denmark.

Darius Maskoliūnas finished the game for the third time in a year with his head down, but this time the coach of the Lithuanian national team would probably have disappeared like smoke after the final siren.

When he shook hands with Danish national team coach Erez Bittman, he couldn’t stand it for a second, he made a sharp turn and it looked like he had scored a goal in the European Football Championship.

For the Israeli coach who coached Dan, it was the most memorable night of his career, and D. Maskoliūnas quietly left the field, pressured by perhaps the most unexpected defeat in the history of the Lithuanian basketball team.

76:80 The Lithuanians lost to Denmark, who normally played basketball in small country competitions, not European championships; There have been no Danes since 1955.

This was the Lithuanian team’s second defeat in the qualifying group for the European Championship in three matches. If we add to that the failure of the Baltic Road Tournament in Tallinn for Estonians in the summer, 2020 is almost a nightmare for our team, even remembering that they are playing again without the best basketball players.

“I prepared the team in the same way, the plan was there, but it didn’t work. It is my fault after the game at the virtual press conference, where the written questions were asked, said D. Maskoliūnas. – The team was not prepared to play hard at physical basketball. Denmark seemed to be an easy contender and an easy match. But the result showed the opposite.

When they felt they could play, they felt it to the end. In point-to-point matches, they were very energetic, more ardent. We were asleep without energy. That is my responsibility, we will try to adapt to the next game. “

Lithuania will play the next game with the Belgian national team in the Vilnius basketball bubble on Sunday and it will be a battle for entry to the 2022 European Championship, as the Danes, who achieved their first victory, pushed the Lithuanians at the end of the group.

One of the hosts, the Czech Republic, and two other teams will leave the group for the European Championship. In principle, Lithuania is now third in the three-team competition (excluding the Czechs).

– Coaches, why did you keep Mantas Kalnietis, Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Jonas Mačiulis on the bench for a long time in the second half of the match?

– The plan was to play hooks on defense, annoy them, so those changes were also made to maintain a higher pace, to be more aggressive on defense.

Perhaps the interlocutor could have seen better, but we do not work with those players.

– Was Gabriel Lundberg’s game surprising, who scored 28 points?

– Surprising that maybe there wasn’t, we knew he was their leader while playing. We built better defensive players against him, we tried to prevent him from playing Pikenrolusbut, as you can see, it failed.

Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Darius Maskoliūnas

– Why did the Lithuanian team lack intensity in the second half of the game?

– It’s like we talk normally in the locker room during the break. We discover the bugs that need to be improved. The point is that when we create opportunities and we go absolutely free, we separate ourselves a little in those moments. But we did not hit with the defense, there were many errors. And our opponents attacked well today and made good use of our mistakes.

There was really no euphoria during the break because we were playing well. We highlight mistakes but fail.

– Perhaps you did not evaluate the competitors before this match, as in the first group match in Belgium, when you admitted it?

– As a coach, I have to admit that our defense plan did not work. I accept the responsibility. But there was not a single exercise or video review to tell anyone that there could be relaxation. We knew we had to fight with all our might so that everyone knew how to play. That the opposing team play better without feeling psychological pressure.

But the plan did not work, I am to blame. On the other hand, I can’t put players in my head, in my heart. Therefore, my words do not reach them. I emphasize that it is not possible that we have to show heart, desire, enthusiasm. I don’t like all this either, neither does anyone.

We all got together, the federation put a lot of effort in taking care of everything. But you lack heart, desire, passion. I didn’t see him on the bench either, although he was behind my back. I can see how the Danes support theirs, and I feel the players’ bench behind me, there wasn’t much energy there.

– Why did the last attack after a minute of rest end with a hasty launch from Mantas Kalnietis?

– Because it didn’t have to end like this. The attack shouldn’t have been like this.