FC Barcelona (5-0) played an extraordinary game to remain unbeaten in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The Blaugranas defeated Zenit St Petersburg by 26 points (84-58).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
28
|
| Nikola Mirotic | |
| Points | 20 |
| Accuracy | 7-9 |
| Rebounds | 4 |
| Assists | 1 |
Sarunas Jasikevicius could not hide his happiness after another win.
"We have to be very happy with the game. I think we played very solid for 40 minutes against a really good team. We played better than last week. Now it's time to move on".
"When the people came to support us, it's amazing. We invite our fans to come. Hope we can buy the tickets for them," added the head coach when asked about the atmosphere at Palau.
The Lithuanian mastermind highlighted how Barca kept the focus during the whole game.
"We have been really well mentally. Everyone has contributed. Energy, defense, individual skills. But we can't celebrate much more. We have another fight in 48 hours," Jasikevicius said.
Sertac Sanli was back after a few days sidelined due to an ankle injury. He finished with 11 points in 18 minutes.
"He lacked luck so far. Too many injuries. He is well integrated into the group and knows the systems, but he could not show it yet. He should be happy today, as well as the team," explained Jasikevicius.
Nico Laprovittola was once again a key factor from the bench. The Argentinian guard is doing a great job on defense, something Saras values a lot.
"Nico is Argentinian. He has character, he is a warrior. He knows he will play a lot if he defends. He is growing week to week", said the head coach.
"It was a really talented and passionate team. Navarro, Grimau, Mickeal, Basile... They dominated physically. And with Xavi on the bench also tactically. It was nice. They were the best in Europe", concluded Jasikevicius about Barca's 2010 team.
Meanwhile, Xavi Pascual expressed his disappointment with his team's performance from the 2Q until the end.
"I think it was clear what happened today. We have just competed for 20 minutes. We started making turnovers on offense, we could not control anything on defense.
We could not be back to the game. In the third quarter, Mirotic destroyed us. 20 points in 15 minutes. We are not ready to compete against that kind of team right now," Pascual added.
Pascual praised FC Barcelona's club for the tribute they organized before the game. He was the head coach of the team that won the Euroleague in 2010.
"It was really emotional to meet again with such an incredible group. We did a great job during those years."
Asked about Shabazz Napier's injury, the Spanish coach admitted he is not ready yet: "He will be out for at least one month more."
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