Žydrūnas Urbonas: “Morning” plays in a very individual way, the team action with them is small “/ News

Juventus de Utena started victorious in the quarterfinals of the King Mindaugas Cup (KMT). The hosts beat Vilnius “Rytas” 89:87 and will bring a 2-point lead before the retaliatory duel, which will take place on January 16 in Vilnius.

However, according to the Utena team leader. Coach Žydrūnas Urbonas, won the battle, but not the war.

“Victory is victory. Winning the morning is good. Of course, the work is not finished yet and we understand it perfectly,” said the strategist at the press conference held after the game.

– At the end of the match, did you try to get as much advantage as possible, how important was that to you?
– It was certainly important. The difference is whether you have a 2, 6 or 10 point lead. So we make some risky decisions which are 50 against 50. Either the game ends in a draw or we win by a few points, there is no difference. But clearly, having that fragile 2-point lead is better.

– Did the clash of players at the start of the match show that the team is exceptionally excited for such a responsible match in which someone calls you a favorite of the series?
– Don’t start talking about favorites here. Yes, this year we played the first game that really made a difference. In the previous stages of KMT we competed against the teams of the National Basketball League and we still feel the difference in levels, natural. Today was the first game with a good and threatening opponent, a good team and you rightly realized it because today we feel a certain tension.

Thank God we got together because we were able to advance 10: 0 at the beginning, but we came out the other way around. We lost the start 7: 0, although we had so many free throws that we were able to score three seconds, sing the first column of the Lithuanian anthem and throw. The pitches didn’t drop, the tension took hold, but then we picked up the pace, caught up with the rivals and had a pretty funny photo.

“Rytas” plays very individually, there is little team action with them. We knew that Andrew Goudelock likes to play alone, but we did not know that Ryan Boatright does the same: the same identical person playing one-on-one, so Arnas Butkevičius runs squares without catching the ball. It is difficult for him. Rytas has a lot of high-level individual basketball players, but at the end of the game we caught them.

– How much did your team improve Vaidas Kariniauskas?
– Kariniauskas is a good basketball player, but today Vaidas Čepukaitis improved the team. This is a man who does black work, defends, hits the ball, speaks, shows emotions on the bench, as well as in the locker room. Of course we have a lot of good guys in the locker room. When another beard joined the other beards bajeriukai does not flood. This is a great added value. Čepukaitis gave us a lot. It is gratifying that you offer competition to Mindaugas in training. I am very happy that you came to us.

As for Kariniauskas, he is a high level player who is still too hot. At the end of the match, Vaidas made risky decisions and was eager to go it alone. But we will work with it, we will work and in time we will find the ideal option.

– Why did you risk keeping Vaidas Čepukaitis in the field for a long time with 4 personal fouls?
– Because Mindaugas Kupšas can’t play at long intervals. Mindaugas ‘shot on a free-kick that missed near Vaidas’ post. He wanted to put Žygimantas Skučas in the center forward position, but very quickly he accumulated 3 personal fouls, he soon got the fourth and did not want to take risks. I trust Vaidu because he doesn’t normally commit stupid fouls and he looked good on defense.

– Donald Kairys mentioned that he missed his students’ quick attacks. Did you insist on stopping them before the game?
– Yes, we knew it, because they state it in an open text, they show it and Rytas plays a game of run and shoot where everything is open and adventurous. Open the ball and pour. I’m not saying anything, that’s the coach’s strategy, and we knew it and we stopped him. I wouldn’t say we did that well today because we got a couple of 3s from Goudelock and Boatright each. You can’t spend a lot of time with an adventure like that.

– Why did you react so sensitively to a violation in an attack that cost you a technical penalty?
– Having a microphone, I would like to talk about this situation. There was a time when these types of offenses in the attack were eliminated and male whistled. I’m not saying that the judges made a mistake in that situation, maybe it was my wrong reaction and I expressed my emotions too intensely. But there is a tendency for players to play to provoke a foul in an attack, we see it also in the Euroleague. What message is sent to the team when a player builds his body and collapses from the slightest touch?

Yes, there was contact, but I imagine the offense of the man in the attack: you ride the train, the bulls stop, you hit him between the horns and he falls. This is a foul in attack. But now the players are playing specifically and no one will prove to me that there is a foul in attack here. A message is sent to play a non-male game. Is soccer fun when players collapse and then roll for 3 minutes? Koktu is so sad and they come to basketball. Today there was a good level of evaluation, not about that. I mean a general tendency that makes me nauseous. Lukas Uleckas does it all.

I don’t want to say much, you just have to know that some players do it with great force. It seemed to me that it was playing in that situation. Instead of scoring points with a foul, we commit a foul in attack. I may be wrong, but situations like this bother me. If the same thing happens in the next game, I’ll be hot.

– What are you waiting for the reaction of the competitors in the Vilnius match?
– I don’t care what they do. I wonder what we will be, it is much more important. If we want blood the same way we do today, that will be fine.