By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Homecoming is on the cards for Sarunas Jasikevicius as he is facing his former side Zalgiris Kaunas in the playoffs in the playoffs.
Barcelona finished the regular season as the second in the standings and is aiming for its first EuroLeague title since 2010.
“For us Lithuanians here, it will be a very emotional tie. I’m very happy for them, although it’s always tough to face them at their place. Seeing our families will be nice, but playing Zalgiris is never a pleasant experience,” Jasikevicius said.
Last season, Barcelona stopped at the semifinals and finished third in Belgrade Final Four.
“The biggest truth is that so difficult to win the EuroLeague. Overall, when you’re looking at the project and everything, it makes you very solid, but everybody wants to win, so we are not an exception. We want to win, and we’re looking at this season as a new opportunity,” Barcelona’s head coach added.
Zalgiris punched its playoff ticket on the last day of the regular season, and the fairy tale continues with the prospect of a home final four as the prize.
“I think we’ve beaten many expectations that we had coming into this year. We’re in a good place, and we got good momentum going. We compete very hard as a team which is one of those teams that you’d love to be on where everybody got each other’s back, and each and every single game, we’re going to give it our best effort,” Ignas Brazdeikis said.
One of the best Zalgirs’ players this season believes anything is possible.
“I think that’s kind of Cinderella’s Story of this year. Anything can happen. We’re all locked in and bought into the system, so as long as we come in with 100 effort and everybody’s healthy, anything’s possible,” Brazdeikis concluded.