MADRID, 14 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Barça coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius, recognized that Real Madrid had been “clearly better” in the first duel this Monday of the ‘Playoff’ for the 2021-2022 Endesa League title and that if they do not find “strength” or go to “die” on Wednesday in the second game “the series can be very short”.
“The first thing to congratulate Chus (Mateo) and Pablo (Laso), and Real Madrid, which has been clearly better. In general, we didn’t know how to forget the series with Joventut, although it seemed to me that we had enough time. Having 72 hours, plus the idea that you’re playing in the final against Real Madrid has to give energy, but I haven’t been able to do anything for them to come out with it”, stressed Jasikevicius at the press conference after the match.
The Lithuanian is clear that “the 50 points in the first half speak for themselves” and that his rival was “much more aggressive”. “He’s gone to every ball, rebounding over our heads and we’ve always been one step behind,” he commented.
However, he did not want to use fatigue as an “excuse” because after the break they began “to play with some energy”. “The second half was quite correct and the question is that if you’re tired you fall in the last quarter. We haven’t found the formula to find strength and if we don’t, this could be a very short series”, warned the Blaugrana coach.
‘Saras’ assured that they did not know how to prepare for this match. “If you are a little more tired you fall in the last quarter, but we fell in the first and the second, so we have to think about other things,” he insisted. “The coach also has to find solutions and words for the players to do better and I didn’t know how. It hurts a lot the first half, but we have to quickly forget what happened because if we don’t it’s going to be very difficult for us” , he highlighted.
Jasikevicius is clear that “if you have a good mentality, your legs will accompany you”. “I think we are well prepared physically and that we are used to playing every 48 hours, but if we don’t come to the Palau on Wednesday to die, it will be very difficult. Today they were not prepared for it, but we have to erase it because there is a new game “, stressed the former player.
Finally, the Lithuanian warned that the rebounding issue is “a matter of legs, desire, attitude, position” and that it does not seem key to him to move Walter Tavares away from ‘painting’. “You are wrong. 33 easy points and 30 points in the first quarter. They are very good. Tavares is not going to leave the ‘painting’, he is very big and has to be there,” he settled.