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On Monday, the Lithuanian team only after an extremely dramatic fight in Vilnius 77:76 (25:19, 16:18, 17:23, 19:16) broke the Danish basketball players and won the last remaining free pass until 2022. European Championship.
In the first mutual match, the Danish national team in Vilnius in the fall of 2020 (November 27) beat the Lithuanians 80:76.
The Danish team in Lithuania was left without its leader Gabriel Lundberg, who scored 28 points in the first match with the Lithuanians, bounced 7 balls, made 4 assists and was the main blacksmith of the guests.
Lithuanian national team strategist at post-match press conference Darius Maskoliūnas He spoke about the game, the risks taken, the mood and highlighted the player who gave the most positivity.
“I would like to thank my players for coming to the bubble. Also to the federation, which re-organized it successfully and everything was at a very high level. Next I want to congratulate the Danish team and their coach. They were well prepared and played great games. We hoped that the game would not be easy, as one team played without pressure and our shoulders were under a lot of pressure and we lost against them once. It is good that the boys did not give up in difficult moments and kept fighting. In very important moments They were very patient and, at times, the basketball gods were on our side, ”said D. Maskoliūnas.
– Jonas Mačiulis said after the match that victory was determined by success. Don’t you agree with that?
– How many free throws have we taken that exceed 40 percent in our clubs? It seems that we are breaking the match, we can flee, but … I would not say that today we have had any success. I would just say that Danish freedom … How many times did we hit triple, how many hit 2 + 1, how many hit triple when we took a chance? I would not agree with that success. he was accompanied, perhaps only a few moments.
– What happened to Mindaugas Kuzminskas?
– He broke his leg and took him to the hospital because he had to sew. Anyway, from what the doctors told me, it’s a game-free week. I hope you get back to the rhythm and your club as soon as possible.
– What happened in the last quarter with a 9 point lead?
– The Olympic triple arrived, we got 2 + 1 without catching the ball … The morning is smarter than the afternoon, we will see the game, we will analyze it, we will see everything with different eyes. It seemed that we played with a lot of patience, we provoked their penalties, we pushed, we also changed all in defense, we went forward, but … Mačiul .. The fact that Manto’s block was really clean and there should be no claims here.
– How concerned is such a nervous selection window?
– Very worried, what answer are you waiting for? Will I say we’re out and everything here will? I am very concerned that we are playing so wavy. There are players that I totally trust, I know what to expect from them, but sometimes they disappear and become completely different people. We have young players who could compete in the national team jersey, but this is what happens with seasoned basketball players. That swell hits the crayfish when we control and seem to defend well, collapses like a house of cards, and then slowly rises.
– Is this collapse a technical matter or a state of mind?
– I have no comment to make. They put it on and I even tried to calm them down during workouts to relieve that pressure. Everyone understands perfectly what it would have been if they had been. No matter how calm or experienced you are, that pressure is on your brain and it’s definitely not easy here. The fact is, we have to handle it better and we have to do the job more accurately, fairly and safely.
– Why was all that selection so difficult and miserable for both the Belgians and the Danes?
– The Belgians, the Czechs are good teams. The Belgians play in the same lineup for many seasons. After the first window, I mentioned: I myself did not expect them to play that well. There was a heavy blow for the Danes at the second window. We got that hit and then we bounced back and played like the other team. And here with the checks, we control from the first to the last minute and it seems to be enough for 60 percent. against the Danes, what we show against the Czechs, but somewhere …
– Were you surprised that the Danes looked so good without leader Gabriel Lundberg?
– Respect for them. They come to the game calmly, and the sword of Damocles does not hang from them. In addition to the main player, they discovered other players, valuing everything that is on the front line. We took the tactic of taking risks on two players, not opening their snipers, but what we risked today, it all fell for them. There is no risk that has occurred to us in the head, it came from the analysis, from watching games. There was nothing like it before, not even next door. Later, he thinks that maybe the tactic he chose failed, maybe he needed to do something else.
– Was it Kevin Larsen (21 points) who took the risk?
– We said we took some risks with his triples and got three.
– What can you say to the fans when you expect a match with much heavier competitors in the Olympic team?
– We will definitely do our best to have a stronger team, to have more time to prepare and we will do our best to be in the Olympics. You know very well what kind of team we can put together and I hope we do. Then we will try to sculpt that team.
– Maybe ending on a positive note ask …
– And what are you grieving about? I’m not saying you need to shout for joy, but you and your colleagues have prepared those buckets on time, but they still have those phrases about the fiasco and the catastrophe. At this difficult time in a pandemic, everyone is already upset and restless, and that extra kerosene fill is helping no one and no one benefits from it. You or they do their job if it seems so necessary … I’m not saying we should be praised, but we need to see something, understand something …
– Are there players who have surprised or positively impressed you?
– Vaidas Kariniauskas looked great in this window. If we hadn’t called him, I don’t know what we would be like. Marek Blaževičius is unequivocally taking steps forward, although he did not have much to say today. Still, you see that he looks different during workouts, he shows strength, he shows growth. Sure, it’s not easy for him because there are few games, but this is a young player and everything will come with time. They all gave something to something.
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