Gregon, the hero of Žalgiris: about a Christmas present, an example from Moscow and a message from Berlin

“The rivals played very well, they gave a lot of contact. It was one of the toughest games. It’s nice that we gave people some kind of gift over the holidays for watching our game. It’s fun when something good happens even in those moments, ”said M. Grigonis at the press conference.

The leader of “Žalgiris” received a lot of attention from the rivals in this match, but still managed to finish on the tally with 22 points, 23 utility points and a winning shot.

The athlete, who successfully completed the difficult final shot, said he wanted to repeat what Mike James, the leader of CSKA Moscow, who has already punished Kaunas residents this season, usually does.

Grigonis also spoke about the congratulations of the former head of his club ALBA in Berlin and compared Bayern’s aggressive defense with the attention paid to him by other rivals.

– Was that the plan during the last attack?

– There was a combination and three variations, one or the other could accept the ball. He didn’t want to miss out because he believed he could pitch. Funny, I always want those pitches. Thank God you fell.

– How do you feel when you execute a pitch like this?

– There are many emotions. The only thing that matters is that you win the game. I can’t imagine how it would feel if you won any title with such a release.

– Immediately throwing it away, he seemed to feel beaten. Did you feel like it was a good launch?

– Before that I threw a triple and I also thought it was a good throw, but I did not fall. This release too, I felt good.

– From the side, it looked like it wasn’t a high-quality pitch. What other options were available?

– When Mike James throws a falling pitch, is it a good pitch or not? Today such pitches are thrown and thrown. We also shot like this on game day, so I had practice.

– How much do you want to shoot such important shots yourself?

– You always want to show that you can. You see how others launch themselves, then you want to launch yourself. After the game, the ALBA boss wrote that he did not know, it was more fun for me or for him, because the Bayern club was defeated. There was extra motivation, he wanted to finish the game differently, but he got even better.

Marius Grigonis prepared an impressive finish for Zalgiris’ ninth victory in the @EuroLeague season. Sit back and enjoy the highlights! 😇 pic.twitter.com/jDGfG8XhVD

– BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) December 23, 2020

– On the one hand, did it seem like it was the toughest game this year?

– I think it was the most difficult game. The rivals also wanted victory, it is a well-prepared, well-trained team. We had that contact from Barcelona. We tried to answer, in some moments it did not work, but in the end, success was on our side.

– Andrea Trinchieri said after the game that he didn’t stop you. Why didn’t he do what Šarūnas Jasikevičius did? How would you compare Bayern’s defense with that of other rivals?

– In each match, opponents test different defenses, you try to read those matches. He had no luck against Barcelona. Maybe because Shar knows me and did something different, but of course … things were different then, there were emotions, maybe there was an exhaustion on my part.

Every situation is different, I try to read situations. All the best players, no matter what the defense is against them, have to adapt and get away with it in some way. I try too. Today has had some success, but far from being a perfect tithe. Today is fun, especially during the holidays.

– What helped not to break when Bayern had taken full control with their physicality?

– Have you taken over? Question. It must be analyzed. I don’t know, we all try to support each other, we try to be together. Such is the strength of “Žalgiris”. This is emphasized by both Paulius Motiejūnas and Paulius Jankūnas. “Žalgiris” must always fight and stay together. We are trying to do that.