Jasikevičius: about the green socks, a call to Schiller and the heartache due to Blaževičius

12/04/2020 Lithuania



[ad_1]

“It is very good that there are no fans in the arena; after all, I did not come here to spread the message or thank you. If there were so many emotions now, it would have been much worse with the fans, perhaps we would have had even bigger problems,” said the helmsman of the Euroleague leaders.

The Barcelona guests called the Kaunas residents the sixth consecutive defeat in the Euroleague – 62:73.

Although the arena “Žalgiris”, as mentioned by Š. Jasikevičius was empty due to the pandemic, its vaults were filled on Friday not only by the screams of a 44-year-old specialist, who is well known throughout Lithuania.

The bank of the Kaunas bank was louder than ever. Even “Žalgiris” director Paulius Motiejūnas lost his usual Olympic calm and shouted advice from the VIP grandstand on the third floor of the arena to Artūras Mikalnis and other players.

The importance of the evening was felt in the tournament situation, and it turned out to be different in basketball than what “Žalgiris” fans saw this season.

In the slow game, the defense completely dominated both sides of the field. Hardly any glimmer of individual talent penetrated the teeth after biting into the black work, perhaps only save for Kyle Kuric’s ice cold nerves, various trademark moves from Nikola Mirotičius and Rokas Jokubaitis advances.

The telling fact is that both teams made more mistakes than actual passes collected.

It is eloquent that N. Mirotičius was satisfied for the first time this season with a number of single-digit points (9) and utility points (9). So far, the tallest has never left the field without at least 20 points. Marius Grigonis, leader of the Žalgiris attacks, also played the most unsuccessful match of the season (5 points).

Another no less illustrative data is that after 11 imprecise 11 consecutive attempts, “Žalgiris” scored the first three points in just 32 minutes.

But even in the low compression attack, it was enough to change the balance. When Thomas Walkup fired another shot from a distance, the team scored three points (54:57).

And if only after a few moments R. Jokubaitis had not similarly “burned” while loading the ball into the basket for the second time this EuroLeague season, the hosts might have strained their nerves. For Jasikevičius. But neither the “if” nor “maybe” statistics are in the basketball tally.

“We defended well, we didn’t let Žalgiris feel comfortable in all the games. But he has already seen the numbers: for our team, 24 errors are not normal. Winning a trip with so many errors is not realistic. There was some nervousness, it was reflected in the decisions made.

In such cases, it is defense, physicality, and character that need to be victorious. This is what we did. The most important thing is that we have recovered from two defeats, we know that we will repair in the future. It is normal for the game to fluctuate during the ten months of the season, ”Š commented. Jasikevičius.

– You have radically limited the damage caused by Mr Grigonis. Did you pay special attention to it? – we asked Š. Jasikevičius

– Marius has a “number one” accent for each opposing team on defense. We were also going to cover it. We did a great job before Marius caught the ball: it was very important to slow down his speed, to hinder the favorite of Žalgiris free hands game, a combination of “point”.

We have something to contrast with players like Marius: Adam Hanga, Alex Abrines are great defenders and have repeatedly shown that they can stop rival leaders.

– Although this time 15 points from R. Jokubaitis have fallen into your basket, how do you assess the progress of this talent “Žalgiris”?

– Brutally funny. Such youthful devotion, crazy desire … We saw it in every training session. Tomas Masiulis told him last year: only you, Roka, did not change. I don’t think it’s going to change, have a good head on your shoulders.

– How do you rate the newcomers who joined Žalgiris in the summer, some of whom you invited yourself?

– Augustine Rubit was the first choice on our list of candidates two years ago. But then he decided to go to the Olympics in Piraeus and we signed a contract with a second candidate, Zach LeDay. Blonde man cruelly like Joffrey Lauvergne, too. When could we invite a player with NBA experience from a club like Fenerbahche in Istanbul?

The composition of “Žalgiris” seems very good to me. It has never been the case that all their minds stay on one team after one season. Steve Vasturia also contributed to them, who can really create a game. We only know how difficult the first years of transition are. We have always said that the first year is difficult, the second year has to appear. And after all, Nigel Hayes was still just a freshman. I think “Žalgiris” has every opportunity to play well and move up.

– What did you say to Marek Blaževičius after the match, who did not appear on the field again?

– I knew that coming to “Žalgiris” could get into such a situation. We talked about it when we met before signing the contract, I warned. I have done nothing wrong, but I feel bad in this situation. Pity. Just so that the child does not break. But Marek is similar to Rock, inside he is much older than the passport shows. Does not break. I just spoke with P. Motiejūnas, he said that Žalgiris has a very busy schedule in December. Marek will definitely be needed too. He has a solid head on his shoulders, a lot of talent. I am happy that he came to “Žalgiris”, I think he will continue to advance.

– You messed with a few words and your successor in Grunwald Martin Schiller.

– I wish you luck, cheers. That’s what all the coaches say. I said we look at your team a lot, we are very sick. I contacted him as soon as he signed the contract: I told him that if he needed information, he would not be afraid and that I would call. We had a fun half-hour conversation.

After all, my team is here; if I can do something, I will help. That only he would be better, that only “Žalgiriukas” would be better. I know I won’t call anyway, but I’m brutally polite songs (smile – Delphi).

– Wear green socks. Coincidence?

– Well, maybe blue … What my wife gives, I’m dragging.

– Do you feel more pressure working in the favorites club than you were used to in Kaunas?

– You know, I work at a soccer club. After every ACB league game, there are no journalists sitting at the press conference. Nobody writes articles about every change I make, every swear word. I knew that I would miss you and I miss you. That attention is the driving force of Lithuanian basketball. And now I live in a football city, a football country. When you have fun with someone, it is more fun to live. But I’m not complaining, everything is fine.

– What did you think when “Žalgiris” beat “Barça” in the Euroleague tournament standings at the beginning of the season?

– Remember that while working on “Žalgiris” I always said that there is absolutely no need to look at the table in the first half of the season. It means even less in a pandemic, where much depends on success: who gets sick, who recovers, to whom the match is postponed. And for the moment, the tournament table doesn’t matter. As I have always said, we will count the chickens in May.

– Although you are currently training the constellation of Barcelona, ​​we often hear the same phrases from Catalonia, which are perhaps painfully familiar to some in Kaunas, with which you hit the students. Do the Barcelona players react in the same way as before in Žalgiris?

– Of course, and why not? I am the same person and the phrases are the same. After all, I will not read, I will not think of new books and new phrases now. It won’t change in two or three months. I’m just trying to help the players. I can put it more aggressively, but it already is: we are who we are.

The only traumatized Patricio Garino missing from the ranks of “Žalgiris” on Friday, Víctor Claveras did not help the guests.

The teams met for the 31st time in history, and 26 matches ended with a favorable result for the Catalans.

Barcelona defeated the residents of Kaunas for the fourth time in a row. Last season, Barça, still coached by Svetislavas Pešičius, took the victory from Nemunas Island by 93:86. Žalgiris could no longer play in the second leg last March, because already on the bus on the way to the airport he learned about the Euroleague season, which was suspended due to the pandemic.

Next week, the people of Žalgiris will visit the Panathinaikos in Athens (Greece) and Barcelona will host the Olympia in Milan (Italy).

It is strictly prohibited to use the information published by DELFI on other websites, in the media or elsewhere, or to distribute our material in any way without consent, and if consent has been obtained, it is necessary to indicate DELFI as the source. .



[ad_2]

Designed by Tricksfast Solutions
© Copyright 2025, All Rights Reserved