BelgradeThursday’s defeat is Barça basketball’s first step back since Sarunas Jasikevicius relaunched a project that had become accustomed to seeing the final four through television. After six seasons without playing in the semi-finals of the Euroleague, the Barça team has won two in a row, but the defeat against Real Madrid in Belgrade has been much worse than the disappointment against Anadolu Efes in Cologne. The Catalan coach changed his mind and became more self-critical. “I don’t know if this team needs another coach,” said the Lithuanian, who acknowledged that he had met with the players before training on Friday.
Jasikevicius: “The mood is very bad”
The Barça coaching staff discussed the match with Jasikevicius until dawn. “It simply came to our notice then final four”, he said. Coach refers to the physical condition of Cory Higgins and Kyle Kuric. “It wouldn’t change too much. We conceded 52 points during the second half, and I don’t know if that has anything to do with the coach, but it’s not the first time this has happened to us. I don’t shy away from my responsibility,” he said.
“His mood is very bad and we shouldn’t try to lift him up. We have to give him time to wake up. We have to be professional and try to get third place,” Saras added. Barça will face Olympiacos this Saturday (4pm, DAZN) in a match with no incentive. “It’s very difficult to find the right words. The players are human, but if we want to be champions in the future we have to learn from our mistakes and get up. We always have to compete,” he said.
“It’s been a year and a half and I still haven’t found the formula to close some games or some qualifiers. The sport is very cruel and you have to kill the opponent. If we don’t succeed, it becomes a conflict. The only thing I ask is it’s not about making presents, because the championships are decided by small details, “he said.
Josep Cubells, Joan Carles Navarro and Mario Fernández have been working on the project for next season for some time. The idea of the basketball section is to be able to keep the budget and strengthen with players like Tomás Satoransky. The club is clear that a prerequisite for new additions must be their character killer. Offices will have to decide what happens to the athletes who end their contracts: Dante Exum, Brandon Davies, Nigel Hayes-Davis and Rolands Smits.
“Elit d’Europe”
“The game was very close and Madrid was superior in the small details. The team fought until the end, but we have a bad taste. We managed to be the first of the regular season and we started the semifinal very well. “But the third quarter was bad,” said Cubells, who was interviewed by Catalunya Ràdio. For the president of the Barça basketball section, the demand must be maximum. “The team did everything they could, but they were unlucky. Our project is to be in the elite of Europe and we are there because we have finished in the top four teams in Europe. Barça and we must always defend the shield and the colors. Our goal is to maintain the league title “, he said.
Madrid, which is looking for the eleventh Euroleague of its history, and Anadolu Efes, who is the current champion, will play this Saturday (7pm, DAZN) the grand final of the top European competition.
