By Stefan Acevski/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce is one step away from qualifying for the EuroLeague Final Four, as they took a 2-0 lead in the series against Zalgiris, winning the second game in Istanbul 86-74.
The current EuroLeague champion is close to another appearance in the final tournament, needing just one more victory in the next three potential games.
After the match, Sarunas Jasikevicius spoke at the press conference, beginning by congratulating his players and fans.
“First of all, I congratulate our players and fans on the victory. I especially thank our fans who stayed here all night to work on the choreography. Once again, they created an incredible atmosphere at Ulker Arena today. The atmosphere gave the team extra energy. For this, the players are grateful to our fans. As for the game, we played very well today. We were aware that Zalgiris would start the game very aggressively and physically. We managed to respond to this physicality. Especially in some moments of the game, we played excellently. It is important for us to stay calm and continue to develop as we have in the last 2-3 weeks.”
He emphasized the importance of the physical battle against Zalgiris.
“This is Playoff basketball. If you lose the physical battle against your opponent in the Playoffs, you probably won’t win the series. We did not lose this battle, and we were particularly good in some moments. Of course, Zalgiris is a very tough team. They have very physical and tough players. As I said, it was important not to lose the physical battle. It was also important to understand what Zalgiris was doing on defense. They constantly changed their defense to try to disrupt our rhythm. Therefore, being able to understand and read these defenses was important. We did quite a good job in this regard. We played good basketball for the important part of both games.”
He also added that Zalgiris’s players will likely feel more comfortable in front of their own fans.
“Today, we were able to keep Zalgiris’s main players under control. We also managed to somewhat control their bench contribution. Of course, Zalgiris’s bench players will probably be more comfortable in Kaunas. After all, they are more accustomed to their home. Zalgiris is a very difficult team to beat at home.”
Finally, at the press conference, when asked if he would like to deliver this performance in Athens at the Final Four final, Saras Jasikevicius got angry and left the conference.
“That’s a disrespectful question.”
Next game will be played in Kaunas on May 6th (19:00 CET).