By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Beko held a press conference before the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four for local media, and head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius spoke about being part of Fenerbahce and the upcoming semifinal against Panathinaikos.
“We are very excited about such an opportunity,” said Saras. We are trying to prepare in the best way possible. We have some time and a Galatasaray match in between. We will train well and prepare in the best way possible.”
Speaking about Panathinaikos, the Lithuanian coach added: “Actually, it is not easy to talk openly about Panathinaikos’ weaknesses. We know how they will attack. More than tactics, the determining factor here is 50%-50% easy shots. We need to be very careful about easy points. Nobody is perfect, everyone has good and bad aspects in their game. Final-Four matches are very different.”
When asked about Panathinakos’ Turkish star Cedi Osman, Jasikevicius elaborated on his tactics: “Cedi Osman had a very good second half of the season. Their biggest strength is consistency. It is not about who will be tough in the Final Four, it is about my team fighting for every inch. That is why we are fighting. We should not allow easy things. The matches are very easy to approach, and small details determine them. They have many quality players who will challenge us, and we have players who will challenge them in the same way.”
After all, being in the Final Four is not a small feat: “It’s an incredible motivation to be here again. People don’t talk about it much, but being in the Final Four is a separate achievement. Life is about giving yourself opportunities and opening the way for great success. Now we have that chance again. It is incredible to be part of a club like Fenerbahçe. We wish them success in all branches, but of course, we try to do our best on our own behalf. We work on the things we can control. We always follow the other branches and wish them success.”