By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
He was never afraid to “speak” on the court, but he also has a – strong – voice off the court. “I came to Panathinaikos because of Obradovic and when he left, I felt that also that the biggest reason for me being in the team left also”, says Sarunas Jasikevicius in his Eurohoops.net interview.
Lithuanian super star explained why he rejected both proposals he got from the Greens in the past summer, he miss his good friend Dimitris Diamantidis and he clarified that he wants to return on day in Athens for the six time Euroleague champions. He spoke to us moments after the win of Olympiacos, that he considers now the favorite in Greece. However, he stated that this result doesn’t mean much for Barcelona in the long run.
“The feeling is very different when you play for Barca against Olympiacos. It’s not the same like when I played for Panathinaikos, but OK I never had a problem with Olympiacos. The problem is that I love Panathinaikos. I am not like the Greeks who hate Olympiacos more than they love Panathinaikos (laughs). It’s nice to win Olympiacos, but it’s not that big of a deal. I m just happy for my team, cause in Top16 you have to win pretty much all the home games and some away to qualify”.
-Even though you love too much Panathinaikos you didn’t stay.
“Yes, these are things of life. Don’t forget that I also love Barca. I was here 11-12 years ago and it was probably the only team that I was gonna leave PAO for. When the opportunity presented, I decided to go for it. OK, life goes on. I am sure that one way or another, I will be back in PAO”.
-You thought that it was not time for you to coach;
“Yes it was not time for me to coach, I haven’t killed the player inside me. For sure I still enjoy coming to practice working, still enjoy suffering as little bit. Until that changes, I will not stop, cause this is the greatest job in the world”.
-For how many more years;
“I don’t know. After every season, you have to thing if next year is possible or not. So I go year by year and I’ll see next summer”.
-Why did you chose Barcelona over Panathinaikos. You’ re a player who has never been afraid inside the court, but where you afraid of the change both in management and in roster;
“Pretty much it had nothing to do with Panathinaikos, I wanted to come to Barcelona for a very long time. I love the town, Im very comfortable here. Of course I loved Athens, it’s ;like my home now, but I felt like this is a good opportunity to live again the moments that I lived 11 years ago and see what happens. It seemed like a little bit more stable situation and I came to Panathinaikos pretty much for Obradovic. When he left, I felt like… you know thet biggest reason that I came left. Then it was very painful that most of the guys start leaving. I didn’t know many teammates and the only guy I was looking forward to playing with was Mitsos”.
-Do you follow them now;
“Of course”.
-You think they will be successful;
“what’s the definition of successful”.
-In Greece you know success is winning the championship.
“I think it’s possible…”
-But Olympiacos has now the edge;
“Yes they have the edge. They have a huge monkey off their back winning the title last year and also the Euroleague. It looks like they are gonna have the homce court advantage which is a big thing, but everything is about winning one road game in the series. I believe tough Panathinaikos can be successful, they still have Diamantidis”.
-Yes but he gets injured. You think that there is a problem that he has to play 30 and more minutes in each game;
“Yes, but he doesn’t play in the summer, so it’s not an excuse for him. When we play in the summers he goes in the beaches (laughs). So he can play now the whole year”.
-Even though you turned down the offer of coaching Paanthinaikos, you envision yourself some day being the next Obradovic of Panathinaikos, or being the head coach of the Greens;
“I don’t know, We will see this. I still think like a player, I still act like a player and I Like the locker room with the other boys. You necver know, some people say that this could be my future, but it’ still too easrly to think about thast”.
– Your son will play for Zalgiris or Panathinaikos;
“Both! I never played for Zalgiris but he will be a fan of both for sure”!