The Barça coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius, affirmed that the Barça team has “the confidence of being able to do great things” after securing the favorable home court factor in the quarterfinals after defeating the ALBA Berlin (72-56).
“There are many factors that influence, but we have the confidence to be able to do great things. The teams that improve the most will have more chances to win and looks like we’re doing it. This is the key. You always have to knock on the door and Barça has been there for yearsfighting for everything”, assured the Lithuanian coach.
From the press room at the Palau Blaugrana, Jasikevicius underlined the merit of this Tuesday’s victory, 48 hours after the “important and emotional victory” Tuesday on the court Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
“It was very difficult. ALBA came with a lot of motivation, speed and movement of the ball. We couldn’t stop them in the first half, but the boys reacted and we found many solutionss. We have to be happy for many players today”, he added.
Among these players is the guard Kyle Kuric: “Each player has to be prepared, because we don’t know what is going to happen. Kyle has shown that he is ready to hit the court and perform. He is training very well. I know it’s not easy for those who don’t play, but there’s no other way”.
Jasikevicius praised the team’s defense in the second half: “Today was impossible to be brilliant, but the effort has been very great. When we had to get off our ass and defend we have done it. We have taken them out of the camp a biteither. In the third quarter we have left in 7 points to one of the best teams in the Euroleague in scoring”.
For his part, the ALBA Berlin coach, the Cantabrian Israel González, appreciated that his team managed to compete “against a great team” until the end of the third quarter: “We couldn’t match your energy nor find a way to score because they improved a lot in defense. We lacked a bit of freshness in attack”.
Asked what options he gives Barça to play the Final Fourthe Spanish coach assured that “all” because “It’s a great team that has physique, talent and a good coach”, although he qualified that “the key is to get to the qualifying rounds for the title well and compete well.”