By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce Beko coach Sarunas Jasikevicius was in a mood for jokes after his team’s away win over Anadolu Efes in the second round of the EuroLeague regular season.
“We’re looking for LeBron James. So far he told us he can’t come because he has contractual obligations with the Lakers,” Jasikevicius sarcastically answered when asked if Fenerbahce is looking for a player after Scottie Wilbekin’s season-ending injury.
Fenerbahce had just beaten Efes 83 – 78 behind a solid defensive output. Jasikevicius’ team was up even by 15 points before an Efes comeback down the stretch and needed a big shot by Marko Guduric to secure the win.
“We have a great game going on and all you care about is gossip,” Saras added. “You already printed 17 names probably. I think there’s nobody left on the market that isn’t coming at Fenerbahce. We had a great game going on, you want to talk about that instead of gossip?”
Jasikevicius then really enjoyed a question about Fenerbahce guard Arturs Zagars who has joined the team’s rotation this season after missing 2023-24 with injury. He smiled when hearing a reporter pondering if the Latvian playmaker could become Europe’s John Stockton.
“Why? Because he’s short and white?” Saras asked him back.
“Arturs is trying to make a name for himself,” Jasikevicius said. “You should see how they beat him up in practice every day. One day he’s leaving with a bloody nose, the other day he’s leaving with a bloody lip. We played against Olympiacos in Crete and I thought he’d go to the hospital after this game. Everybody’s beating him up but he’s standing up for himself. He’s very talented and a fantastic player. But he hasn’t been healthy. He needs to be healthy.”
In the second EuroLeague game of his career, the 24-year-old Zagars had 11 points, including a win-sealing triple for the 74 – 81 with 25 seconds remaining.
“Today it was a coming-out party for him,” Jasikevicius commented. “To go against one of the best teams in Europe with such great guards. He held his own and he was a factor. So I think first we need to see if he can be healthy. He’s fantastic in practice. We have to be patient with this guy.”
Jasikevicius concluded by mentioning Valdis Valters, a FIBA Hall of Famer and one of the most legendary figures of Soviet and Latvian basketball. “Let’s hope he [Zagars] is Valters first before he’ll get to John Stockton.”