Sarunas Jasikevicius, the head coach of Fenerbahçe Beko, who could not advance to the final after losing 79-61 to Olympiacos in the first match of the Basketball EuroLeague Final Four, said that they played very badly.
The Lithuanian head coach made a statement at the press conference held after the match played at the Telekom Center in Athens, the capital of Greece.
Congratulating Olympiakos for the victory, Jasikevicius said, “They were the better side. We played perhaps the worst match of the season as a full squad. It was painful to see that we were in such a difficult situation. The beginning of the quarters were very difficult for us. We saw how important it is to throw the first punch. We were knocked out at the beginning of every 3 quarters. When we tried to hold on to the match, we saw that it was not possible at every moment. They took it away from us when we showed some signs of life. A nice evening.” It wasn’t.” he said.
Emphasizing that they could not show their own game, Sarunas Jasikevicius said, “This was not our basketball. I can say that I was pleased with the defense for most of the game, but we were very bad in attack. We had to be a little more patient. Olympiakos played well. We were very bad. Our immediate focus on three-point baskets caused some trouble. They were patient. We were below our normal performance. We played a disastrous game. We tried to come back three times, but we gave up all of them. But it did not happen.” he opined.
Criticizing the fact that many Fenerbahçe fans could not enter the hall even though they bought tickets, the Lithuanian head coach said, “It is a very sad situation for the EuroLeague. This is really a bit sad. I am bored for the Fenerbahçe fans. Most of the fans were left outside. They could not enter the hall. This was very unpleasant for the EuroLeague.” he said.
