The Žalgiris manager, who accepted the apology of the opponents, was surprised by the disastrous indicators | Euroleague

When the people of Žalgiris gathered in the Valencian basketball players’ locker room after the defeat, M. Schiller called his assistants around the corner into the hallway of the Žalgiris stadium.

Five coaches looked down at the statistical protocol, but their findings had to be visible to the naked eye.

57 points in the second half of the game and scores of relentless triples after the break, as if the arrow pierced the heart of the Žalgiris defense. Žalgiriečiai played the worst half in defense this season (30 points lost in the third) and the worst game in defense; prior to that, opponents had mostly scored 73 points in the green-white basket.

Schiller made no secret that such figures are unforgivable.

“Congratulations to Valencia for a good game. It was a two-sided match. Interestingly, they reached 25 percent before the break. 3-pointers, after which the percentage was raised to 43. It’s tough to win a game when opponents hit it from a distance, plus it adds a lot of trouble under the basket. The number of launches by Prepeličius and Marinkovičius was a challenge for us. These pitchers threw too many pitches (7/16 trit.). I think Marinkovičius helps them to expand the square. Unfortunately, we couldn’t limit his three-point shots, “M. Schiller said at the press conference.

– How did you try to stop your long-range artillery after the break and what failed?

– First of all, we try to refocus. Another thing, in the first half, the intrusions in the penalty area and the rebounds bounced by the opponents in the attack hurt us even more. That was our main problem. Valencia is doing very well. They play close to the basket and we wanted to limit their play in the penalty area.

– What did the Valencia coach, Jaume Ponsarnau, want to tell you, shaking your hand after the final siren?

– He said they wanted points. He apologized for the late break, but explained that he wanted points. I accepted that apology. It is like.

– You lost 10 three points in a row after the break. Did this affect the team?

– Really so. But I will repeat, the most important thing is to make good decisions. Whether it’s a shot or a breakthrough, giving away a free kick is almost the same as taking a bad shot. Hitting increases confidence for the next pitch. Again, however, we must focus not on glitches or pitches, but on smart decisions.

– How many problems did the game of Valencia cause near the basket through Nikolai Kaliniitis and Derrick Williams?

– We knew they were playing that way. We were ready for that. I think creating his attacks from a game close to the bottom of the basket, not necessarily to score points, but to move the ball, create long shots, was a challenge for us.

– Nigel Hayes fired 15 shots (11 points, 5/15 years). Are you satisfied with that number?

– You will have to review the game again. In some places he didn’t dare to throw good pitches, in some places he threw difficult pitches. You can’t blame a player for good shots. But in response I have to watch the video again.

– Is there any information if you go to France next week to play for USEL de Villeurbanne?

– No, we don’t have any news yet.

– How serious is the injury to Martin Geben, who did not play?

– We don’t think it’s a serious trauma. We will have clearer information on Friday, but it does not seem that it will be something serious.