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The Lithuanian team allowed all basketball fans to breathe easier, beating Denmark.
Country team strategist Darius Maskoliūnas he was satisfied with the goal achieved, but not particularly satisfied.
“First of all, I want to thank the players for coming to the bubble and the excellent work of the federation, which organized everything at a high level. Another thing: I want to congratulate the Danes and their coach, they were well prepared and played a great game.
We hoped that the game would not be easy, because when a team plays without a lot of pressure and the pressure is a lot for us, especially once we have lost to them, it is difficult to say anything. It’s great that the guys didn’t stop fighting anymore, they were very patient in key moments.
Sometimes we lost our minds and basketball day was on our side. I think the boys deserve it, “said D. Maskoliūnas.
– Don’t you agree that success accompanied you?
– How many free throws we took, so did the players who shoot with 40 percent accuracy on their sticks. It seems that we are breaking the game and escaping, but I would not say that success accompanied us.
How many times do we knock down the Danes shooting 3s, how many times do we allow ourselves to shoot two points with a foul or 3s where we risk. I really don’t want to accept that we were accompanied by success, maybe a few moments.
– Mindaugas Kuzminskas was injured. He’s fine?
– They tore him apart and took him to the hospital; needed to be sewn. As the doctors said, a week without game. I wish you to return to the rhythm as soon as possible, to your club and to represent it well.
– Regarding the last quarter, what happened to the team with a 9-point advantage?
– There were three and a half minutes left. We got an Olympic triple, without bouncing the ball we got two points with a foul below the basket. The morning is smarter than the afternoon: you analyze the game, everything will be seen with different eyes. It was as if we stopped, but we played patiently, called fouls and rushed. There was nothing at all in the attack.
We started to change in defense, to move on. They happily jump in and put more pressure on us. We lose the free throw, the flapping. It’s difficult to comment on anything, but the fact that the Kalnietis Blanket block was clean and shouldn’t have any claims.
– How worried are you about such a selection window before the Olympic selection?
– Very worried. What answer are you waiting for? I don’t understand why we are browsing like this. I don’t understand some of the players I trust so much and I know what to expect from them. Sometimes they give you even more, but sometimes it just goes away. I do not know what is happening.
We have young players that could be challenged for the team jersey, but I get that wave knocked out of the crawl and then the team itself hits. In moments when it seems like we are in control and defending well, but the bum collapses like a house of cards. After that we slowly get up again, we get up.
– Are they more psychological or moody?
– No comment. They all put me in, I tried to calm them down to get rid of that tension in them. We understand perfectly well that it would have been so. No matter how laid-back and experienced you are, that press is on your brain and it’s definitely not easy here. We need to deal with this better and do our work with greater precision, fairness and confidence.
– Why was the selection so difficult?
– The Belgians are a good team, the Czechs too. They play in the same lineup for many seasons. After the first window, I mentioned that I myself didn’t expect opponents to play that well. The game against the Danes was a hard blow in the second window.
They hit us, we straighten up immediately. With the checks we control everything until the last minute, it is enough to carry more than 60 percent of what we showed on Saturday and that should be enough for a safe and peaceful victory. Not at all. We need to analyze where our problems are.
– Were you surprised by such a Danish performance without Gabriel Lundberg?
– They are great, respect for them, fought. They came to the game calm, because they had already performed well, they do not have the sword of Damocles and their hands are not tied. Besides his main player, he discovered other players and put everything on the front line, where we couldn’t defend everything.
We took the tactic of not opening their snipers and we did it a bit, but what we risked – big 3s and medium shots – it all fell. There was nothing in the previous windows. Maybe we choose the wrong tactics.
– What can you say to the fans when they expect matches with stronger opponents?
– I can say that we will do everything possible to have a stronger team and time to prepare more. We will do our best to meet at the Olympics, there is not even language. You know very well what kind of team we can put together and I hope we do. Then we will try to sculpt with that team.
I’m not saying you need to shout for joy. Your colleagues kept the buckets ready, but keep those phrases about fiasco and catastrophe.
Putting kerosene on the fire does not help anyone. We don’t need to be praised, but we need to see and understand.
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