R. Jokubaitis’ Glory Joke: Courage and Detail Who Circled Europe, Not Behind Shar | Euroleague

Just over 2 minutes before the end of the match, Rokas Jokubaitis brought the ball to the three-point line. Minus four was on the board, the time of the attack was melting and Marius Grigonis had already offered to entrust the projectile to him in his hands.

When another 19-year-old man in such a situation would have made the simplest decision – to pass the ball to the team leader, Rokas showed the combination, repositioned himself and began the opponent’s attack.

He cautiously passed through the defense of the three rivals, but after meeting the resistance of Olympiacos defensive pillar Octavius ​​Ellis, he bravely pushed the colon with a free kick. The surprisingly swollen muscles have worked in recent years.

So when R. Jokubaitis fouled V. Spanoul 3.5 seconds ago. stopped issuing fines “Žalgiris” was one point behind, not scary. It was clear that the tension would not affect the character of this young winner, but not secular.

Rokas took both penalties, weighed 68:67, clenched his fists and snatched the first victory of the season from Žalgiris in the Euroleague.

The October 1, 2020 game against Olympiakos will set five new or repeated Rokas Jokubaitis records: points scored (12), utility points (15), rebounds (2), total rebounds (3) and interceptions. (one).

What does it mean for a Lithuanian basketball player “Niolikin” to have something similar in the Euroleague? Well, for example, in 20 years, only Mantas Kalniečius, Paulius Jankūnas, Žygimantas Janavičius and Martynas Andriukaitis managed to record a double-digit number of points in a single match before their twentieth birthday. One has been running the Lithuanian team for the past decade, and the other is finishing all the top spots on the EuroLeague record charts.

By the way, these were not just synthetic numbers in the Žalgiris – Olympiacos match protocol. R. Jokubaitis started “Žalgiris” with seven points in four minutes for the inspiring section in the first half of the match, and in a straight line the player scored 5 of the last 8 “Žalgiris” points.

The 19-year-old made the difference in the critical minutes of the game against a Euroleague team that has ambitions to break into the playoffs.

“Write down your name: ROKAS JOKUBAITIS”, shouted the Italian EuroSport. – The jewels of the 2000s with 12 points and decisive fines marked the victory of the village of Žalgiris “.

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“A heartbreaking match in Piraeus with a 19-year-old hero,” announced Italia’s Basket Inside’s Francesco Iorio in the headline. “Olympiakos lost the match he won and Žalgiris was saved by an unexpected hero.”

“Olympiacos’ bad decisions and lost matches have already been lost. Wonderful Jokubaitis, which we will probably talk about very often in the future,” Greek commentator Christas Kiousis briefly summarized.

“Jokubaitis froze Piraeus,” shouted the Italian superbasket.it.

Several independent European basketball watchers have seen hints of Miami Heat star Goran Dragicch’s style at the Rock Game, but perhaps without a sudden first step.

Two of the most popular international European basketball news portals, Sportando and EuroHoops, also wrote about the success of Rokas Jokubaitis, highlighting the young man’s fateful fines, who snatched the victory he already held in the hands of Olympiacos basketball players.

Estonian colleagues, Postimees and the Spanish basketball portal Solo Basket also announced the icy nerves of Rock that saved the game of the Lithuanian giants.

It is good to read these quotes from colleagues abroad. But at the same time, it’s good that those lines aren’t surprising anymore. We have already identified the value of this “Žalgiris” diamond and have even become accustomed to its flickering in larger and larger scenes.

A few weeks ago, Rokas scored 16 points in the Panathinaikos basket in Athens and blushed after compliments from Euroleague star Nemanja Nedovičius.

Last season, the 19-year-old had already scored 11 points on Žalgiris’ overall tally in the victory against ALBA Berlin, 7 meeting against Olympiacos.

“I have to highlight Rokas Jokubaitis. I think he made a difference with his game,” Schiller told Euroleague TV after the victorious baptisms.

However, Schiller himself should stand out here.

“Žalgiris” played a rather poor match and won not only because of Rock or his fight, but also because of the rival attack in the last quarter. Those only 3 hits from Greece from 18 shots and the 8 lost triples were inspired not so much by the defense of Žalgiris, but by the absolute ideological and communicative crisis of the Olympiacos players in attack.

But perhaps differently than before: we have already seen Rokas play successfully in recent years wearing the “Žalgiris” main team jersey, surprised by the fact that M. Schiller bravely threw the 19-year-old into the field in the middle of the last quarter.

By placing Artūrs Milaknis on the bench, the Austrian was able to take his traditional five with Steve in Vasturia Square. But the American did not get off the bench in the fourth quarter, and “Žalgiris” finished the match with Thomas Walkup, Marius Grigonis, Rokas Jokubaitis, Nigel Hayes and Joffrey Lauvergne.

Getty via Euroleague / Rokas Jokubaitis

R.Jokubaitis has had the best tutor in the Euroleague for the last two seasons. But even Šarūnas Jasikevičius didn’t dare throw the young Žalgiris into the fire in the last quarter of any of the Euroleague matches, when the teams scored a single digit difference.

But Schiller did it. In the debut match of the Euroleague. In the middle of the fourth quarter, behind the rivals by five points and still trying to catch the straw that broke the glass of victory. Even Schiller’s biggest critics had to put him to a great advantage.

“He is a talented boy. We all know that, M. Schiller told Jonas Miklovas of basketnews.lt in Piraeus. – I think the swell of the game is part of the journey of young players like him. They have played a very good game against Panathinaikos, for example, but have been stuck in recent games. Now he’s playing great again. Our task as coaches will be to smooth the curve of your game so that you can consistently demonstrate a high level of play. That’s part of the growth. “

Getty Images / Euroleague.net nuotr./Martinas Schilleris

Part of growing young players is patiently watching the decisive minutes of matches from the substitute bench and learning from the mistakes and victorious decisions of their more experienced teammates. But this child is growing up very fast. Even alongside one of the best defending defenders in the Euroleague or two nominal players from the Lithuanian team, five start.

How symbolic that at the end of the match, 19-year-old Rokas Jokubaitis pushed with twice as much as 38-year-old Vassilis Spanoulis. By the way, the Greek is only five months younger than the man from “Žalgiris”. coach. That showdown was a vivid illustration of how the past and future of the Euroleague are seen in one place before our eyes.