FC Barcelona (15-3) lost its third Euroleague game of the season in Vitoria on Thursday night. Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (7-11) was much better team, beating the Blaugrana by 19 points (94-75).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
25
|
| Rokas Giedraitis | |
| Points | 20 |
| Accuracy | 7-10 |
| Rebounds | 3 |
| Assists | 2 |
Sarunas Jasikevicius showed his disappointment just after the buzzer. "It was embarrassing," he said in the flash interview at DAZN. The Lithuanian mastermind is never shy to say harsh words when analyzing a game.
"There was only one team on the court. It was a little bit embarrassing for me to stand there on the sidelines and see how one team was jumping over the heads and running while we were giving it", added Jasikevicius, clearly disappointed.
Barcelona's head coach warned in the preview about Baskonia's intensity.
"I truly can not explain why they were more motivated than us. They won against us in the same way they did a few weeks ago at Palau.
It looks like the chat we had at halftime was useless. They scored 34 points in the third quarter, and we only made 3 fouls. I believe we didn't show up in here", explained the 45-year-old coach.
Jasikevicius also had a message to his players.
"Mentally speaking, some of them stayed in Barcelona celebrating the holidays. I can understand what happened in ACB, as we came from a big win in Istanbul. But there are no excuses for tonight's performance," confessed the Lithuanian.
Cory Higgins was back in FC Barcelona after two months out due to a back injury. The American shooting guard scored 2 points in just 8 minutes of action.
"I do not really care about how he will play in the next games. It will take a bit longer to see his best version. We should be focused on his daily improvement," stabbed Jasikevicius.
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz / Schedule
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
FC Barcelona
Maccabi Tel AvivRokas Jokubaitis did not play his best game, scoring 11 points with just 30% accuracy from the field. The Lithuanian youngster recognized there were no positive things to say.
"Most of the fourth quarters were really bad for us. The coach motivated us before the game, but we did not listen too much. We have to prepare for Madrid now," he explained.
On the other hand, Baskonia's assistant coach David Gil (replacing Neven Spahija on the bench) expressed his pride in the press conference.
"When we start like this, tactical issues are not as important. We are a more solid team that makes few mistakes. It was easier to coach and read the game," began the Spanish coach.
"There is not much to say. We were aware of the image we gave in Zaragoza. It hurt a lot, and the players knew it could not happen again. We bounced back the way we needed," added Gil.
Just a few minutes before the game, Bitci Baskonia announced a disciplinary proceeding had been opened to Landry Nnoko. Asked about this situation, Gil pointed out that the club will make a statement soon.
Rokas Giedraitis, who shined with an outstanding performance from the three-point line (5/6), praised the team for a solid reaction after a tough loss at Zaragoza.
"I feel amazing. We stepped up, we have played well on both sides. Everybody had good energy. I am happy for the whole team", said the forward.
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