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Although even before the tournament it was shouted at the top of the throat that one or another solution had to be found to reduce the destructive spectacle of the star of the Slovenian team, the Lithuanian team was the one that, like other teams in the tournament, got on the rake.
The Lithuanians did not find any antidote for L. Dončičius, who obtained a double digit of three digits. The defender scored 31 points, bounced 11 balls, made 12 assists and scored as many as 42 utility points.
“One could think of how to partially neutralize the appearance of this child prodigy. However, if the coaching brigades of NBA teams can’t find a way to stop Luke, who is averaging 34 points in the NBA, it can hardly be expected that Darius Maskoliūnas could have had a recipe.
Finally, L. Dončičius proved that even a high-level player can determine the final result. In this case, the headquarter of the coaches of the Lithuanian national team should not be blamed: every attempt and opportunity to maneuver with the team was taken advantage of, but L. Dončičius is too fantastic to stop it ”, evaluated coach Algirdas Brazys in the painful confrontation. that prompted entry to the games.
“I think it’s not even worth blaming or blaming D. Maskoliūnas, he’s hanging around with the players he had. In the final match everything was fine with the attack, but the defense didn’t work out. With almost 100 points thrown against you, You can hardly think of a quick attack as you have to throw the ball out of bounds and the opponent has returned to defense in an impressively disciplined manner.
And what most caught the attention of L. Dončičius was the naivety of hoping to completely neutralize it. Then he had to select at least one of his elements to be “subtracted” from him.
However, this did not happen: Luka ran under the basket, but his centers did not trust him to try to stop him from throwing. Slovenia scored many points in the penalty area thanks to their individual efforts. And six more moments when he scored points and got the right to take an extra shot after penalties.
If it were not allowed to host our penalty area, that would be the success that would allow us to think about winning. In this case, it is disappointing that after catching the defender, he did not receive the blocks from J.Valančiūnas or D.Sabonis. Then he would be forced to discard the ball, think who to give it to, which is another story, ”said basketball coach Tomas Pačės.
The latter explained that he lacked the help of certain players in the most important national team match this year.
“Maybe some basketball players have escaped responsibility, there has been static play and predictable movements in some places. Also, it was as if we wanted a little more contribution from our Lukas Lekavičius engine. Basketball players did not always choose the better bad and we had the worst possible variation.
On the other hand, Arnas Butkevičius has finally shown his leadership qualities to everyone: he is one of the players who will also be an important leader of the national team in the future, ”explained T. Pačėsas.
According to basketball specialist A.Brazis, this tournament only proved that this time the Lithuanians faced a very serious problem: lack of time. The coaches of our team could not polish the jewel they had: the tandem of two NBA players: Jonas Valančiūnas and Domantas Sabonis.
“It can be said that D.Maskoliūnas found something to do for this tandem in the square together, but lack of time determined that both towers did not go all the way. In the end, these basketball players did not become the force to be would become the deciding factor. Perhaps that is why the Slovenians discovered an antidote: they played for a while in a small and more mobile five.
However, it is possible to think about the future of this pair of players; In my head, this is a promising issue, ”said A.Brazys.
In this tournament, the coaches of the national team did not find a place for Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who is considered elderly. He was the only basketball player who did not play against Slovenia.
“I don’t know what the situation is behind the scenes of the coaches’ strategies, but M. Kuzminskas has been fully trained as a player this year: he had a great season in the Krasnodar Lokomotiv team and now he has become an angry sportsman. player.
This is a very nice feature that shows true professionalism. Yes he is not very strong in defense and perhaps that is why he did not take place in such an important match.
Or maybe there is another factor: J. Valančiūnas was with D. Sabonis in the penalty area, he simply did not leave room for him. But to say that M. Kuzminskas is being canceled is completely false. It is necessary for the national team, ”explained A. Brazys, who once coached the Kaunas Žalgiris Club.
Immediately after the lost match, D. Maskoliūnas declared his resignation.
According to technician A.Brazis, maybe he rushed.
“You know, when he led the team to the European Championship, then such an idea came up that Darius really doesn’t imagine where he came from, what he’s fighting for. If we had lost the decisive match to the Danes and then the coach left, then I’d say that everything is fine and it should be like that. But now for the Olympic team, he prepared the team very well emotionally, he was like a fist, he knew what he was aiming for and gave all his strength. Now I would say that this is a too quick decision, this step was not necessary, “said a basketball specialist.
T.Pačėsas thought that D.Maskoliūnas acted like a real man.
“The team didn’t make it to the Games. It was tasked with breaking into the Olympics, but it didn’t happen; it took all the blame for everyone.
It’s a very masculine behavior, I respect him. On the other hand, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation must now take one step or another, at least to explain such a failure.
Because D. Maskoliūnas was basically responsible not only for the national team, but also for the image of the federation. He took on the burden of persuading him to become the coach of the national team. We have to thank him that we are not in absolute trouble: how would we look into each other’s eyes if the national team did not participate not only in the Olympics but also in the European championships?
In this case, D. Maskoliūnas did everything possible not to have the worst possible scenario and is retiring from the national team with great respect for the basketball community, ”said T. Pačės.
