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Lithuanian national team leader Darius Maskoliūnas, who left his coaching position after failure in the Olympic team, sees no possibility of Šarūnas Jasikevičius starting work for the national team.
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Maskoliūnas, who works with him in Barcelona, revealed that he had spoken with Sharo in charge of the national team, but his friend’s speech did not attract the strategist who leads the Euroleague.
“From the beginning, I did not break or dare to go to this position,” said Maskoliūnas during communication with Nemira Pumprickaitė on the LRT show “Savaitė”. – I was probably one of those people who really did a lot to be the best coach in that position, but it didn’t happen that way.
I accepted the challenge, I did not do the work, I left. Everything is very clear, so there were not even questions. I think that even if I was successful, my performance at the Olympics would have been my last job with the national team. “
– What does the elimination of Lithuania from the Olympics mean for you personally? – Nemira Pumprickaitė asked on the LRT show “Savaitė”.
– It is unequivocally difficult, I am disappointed and frustrated, not doing the job to the maximum, as most of the Lithuanian fans thought it should be. The Slovenians were definitely better that day. Of course, you can look for various reasons. Now it can be said that the tactics we chose were wrong. Some details could have been executed better. He really didn’t want to be the coach who would go down in history as the first not to bring the national team to the Olympics. But that’s the sport now, me and all the players will have to swallow that bitter pill.
– You say you could have done something different. What are you thinking specifically about?
– We knew that it is practically impossible to stop Dončičiai, because the best players in the best league do not stop him for three years. As a result, he is one of the best players in the world. There’s no need to swear that you’ll take and will close Dončičiai. We knew he was going to punish us, but we tried and wanted to isolate him from the team as much as possible, and keep others involved in the game as little as possible. In a few moments it worked, in a few moments it didn’t work. I don’t want to go into the tactical details, maybe a different defensive tactic might have been necessary, but we had that idea. The first two halves yielded something, but the fact that even then the defense was not good – 52 points were lost. We knew it neglected The Slovenians with the attack will be very difficult, and the defense did not hit us, especially with the start of the second half of the game.
– You said immediately after the game that you were leaving the post. If you were lucky, would you stay behind?
– I have not been torn from the beginning and I have not dared to go to this post. I was probably one of those people who really did a lot to be the best coach in that position, but it didn’t happen that way. I accepted the challenge, I did not do the work, I left. Everything is very clear, so there were not even questions. I think even if I was successful, a performance at the Olympics would have been my last job with the national team.
– And, what is the best? Do you want to see Šarūnas Jasikevičius?
– And do you know anything better?
– Since you’ve been at the Barcelona headquarters with Jasikevičius, have you consulted with him about the match itself and the qualifying tournament?
– Yes.
– What is the probability that Jasikevičius will be able to replace you in the national team?
– I think minimal. When you play 95 games per season and you still have to spend the summer with the national team, in that sense, it is not ironic.
– Do you see another candidate who can replace you in this position?
– Of course, everyone is talking about Kazys Maksvytis, Dainiai Adomaitis, from the day I left, I said they didn’t play bad basketball, they just didn’t make it a bit. Maybe the Russians will finally release Kazis from exile and let him work for the team (smiles). It is no longer for me to judge and offer.
– Is it possible in Lithuania for a foreigner to become a coach of the men’s basketball team?
– This is not a new practice and you see what happens, the player becomes Slovenian in two weeks. A foreign coach is never news again, in many teams the coach is foreign. If you ask me personally, I don’t see it.
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