Schiller, who sent a minute break to the students, said: “There was a reason for that” / News

Photo: BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis

Photo: BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis

Photo: BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis

Photo: BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis

Photo: BasketNews.lt/V.Mikaitis

The Spanish barrier was insurmountable for the second time in a row. Kaunas “Žalgiris” suffered one of the biggest failures this season in the great defensive pursuit of Šarūnas Jasikevičius and “Barcelona” and in the Euroleague – 62:86.

No man from Žalgiris was able to score double-digit points, and the hitting percentage in games was less than 50. The physique and pressure from Barcos across the site contributed significantly to this, forcing Žalgiris to commit 20 mistakes.

After the “BasketNews.lt” match the men from Kaunas were interviewed. Coach Martin Schiller noted that physically his students fought commendably, but lacked psychological strength.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Barcelona are very capable, but I didn’t like our fight. I don’t mean the physics, we ran like them and we gave up all our strength physically, but that’s not enough,” Schiller said. – If you want to fight with a team like Barça in terms of psychology and concentration, you have to give more on both sides of the field. As a result, we are dissatisfied, less with the result, more with the performance ”.

In the third quarter, the 38-year-old strategist scored nearly the most famous break of his minute all season. With 18 points from “Žalgiris” behind, Schiller cursed his students, without giving any tactical explanations, and at the end of the match pushed the combined board with all his might on the parquet of the “Palau Blaugrana”.

According to the strategist, this is how he tried to resurrect the team.

“It was obvious that we needed some excitement because I didn’t like how we left the locker room after two quarters. There was a reason for that, ”Schiller shared his thoughts.

Man of the match

– Can you reveal the condition of Thomas Walkup, who was unable to play before the game? What influence did he have on today’s game?
– I am very happy that Thomas played. He vomited all night, but stood up and struggled. That’s what he already is, I’m really happy he played and I think Thomas is fine. It was probably food poisoning. Of course, it’s important these days to make sure it’s not a coronavirus, but it certainly didn’t look like that.

– In the first half, Walkupas committed two early fouls and due to the coronavirus, Lukas Lekavičius did not have to let Rokas Jokubaitis enter the field. Did you have a hard time attacking to organize a team game?
– Yes, but it’s not easy. Barcelona played very aggressively today and it was difficult for everyone to move the ball to the other side of the field, as did Rock. However, he came in later and this is a great opportunity for him to learn and improve playing against Leandro Bolmar, who was called up to the NBA Rookie Trade this year. Rock wants to be in the same situation next year too, so it’s a great opportunity for him to learn.

– Both in the second and third half, you fell into a well. What happened to your team and what did Barcelona do well in defense?
– As I mentioned, they put a lot of pressure on us in the attack, especially when passing the ball through the field, which made our attacks difficult, especially when we want to put the ball in fast attack. If you can’t play your combinations, the game becomes very static and you start to play one by one. That was the history of the party. Of course, Lekavičius was lacking, who could create his own shots, he lacked speed.

– Cory Higgins scored 17 points in the first half of the game. Was the defense of “Žalgiris” to blame for that, or was it too strong for the individual?
– A combination of both. Higgins is the MVP of the Copa del Rey, a very good player. 17 points is a lot, we changed the defensive combinations and put Nigel Hayes at his side in the second half of the game, which was very important. I don’t know if his closure stopped the bleeding, because then there were other players who dragged the opponents away.

– Both in the first mutual duel in Kaunas, today you managed to stop Nikola Mirotičius. Do you have any specific information that allows you to stop at how other computers fail?
– It was supervised by Nigel, Augustine and Jankun. They focused on him and read the situations he escapes from, where he likes to get the ball the most. I appreciate these guys for their good work with Mirotic, but that’s far from enough to fight Barcelona equally.