By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Partizan head coach Andrea Trinchieri gave kudos to his players putting up a fight against Rytas Vilnius but also admitted that his team doesn’t deserve a spot in the EuroCup quarterfinals following the eliminating loss to the Lithuanian side.
“In Monaco, we got it all, today we played with heart, balls, everything but didn’t deserve it [the qualification]. Those situations are different but similar, the genetics are the same,” Trinchieri commented in the post-game presser.
“This is the land of basketball, right? I know that very well and it’s more clear to me every day,” Trinchieri said following his opening statement. “You do your job, I try to do mine. Sometimes good, sometimes so-so. We didn’t deserve the Top 8. I can’t lie, we weren’t able to defend 20 seconds in Monaco and we didn’t do it today. That’s one more big, big, big lack of our play, our psychology, our concentration. And we tried, we gave everything we have but when we’re not able to make the right decisions in two same situations… I’m very sorry because tonight it’s quite clear to me who is ready for the Top 8. Our fans are but we are not… we’re not. And I don’t say it because I’m angry or furious, for me, it’s just a challenge to get better. I know very well how we started and how we turned things around but in the end, basketball is a game of… a bit of chess, a bit of body, sometimes combined in the last seconds. In Monaco we got it all, today we played with heart, balls, everything but didn’t deserve it. Those situations are different but similar, the genetics are the same.