Discussing the final four in Kaunas, the “Real” strategist corrected himself after confusing Lithuania with Latvia
Kaunas “Zalgiris” met Real Madrid for the first time in almost 15 years, whose coach was not Pablo Laso.
The specialist who was at the helm of the “royal” club for many years suffered from heart problems, and at the end of last season, the 53-year-old Madrid player, who previously only worked briefly with Malaga “Unicaja” in the EuroLeague.
The less observant fans of “Zalgiris” may not have even noticed the change at the “Real” bench: just like P. Laso, so is Ch. Mateo – small, tall and a bit bald, just in contrast to his predecessor, who himself did not play basketball – the current “Real” strategist got into coaching at an early age.
The Spaniard is doing quite well with him so far.
Still in 2021-2022 at the end of the season, after giving lessons to Šarūnas Jasikevičius in the final series of the Spanish ACB League and surpassing Šara and “Barca” at the start of this season in the Spanish Super Cup, Ch. Mateo had a good start in the EuroLeague as well, climbing on the heels of the leaders of the tournament with his team full of stars.
But in Kaunas Ch.Mateo had to lower his head, which he could raise high during the last series of eight matches, when his students won seven times.
“Žalgiris” grabbed 15 balls in the offensive in a persistent match, fantasizing about finishing in the crazy atmosphere of the Nemunas Island arena and defeating the rich powerhouse from Spain for the second time in a row at home – 81:72.
“We played a tough match until the last four minutes. It was even, but in the last minutes “Žalgiris” had more energy than us, they outplayed us in all 50-50 situations, they earned extra attacks in the attack with recovered balls, especially Arnas Butkevičius, Ch. Mateo singled out the Žalgiris player. – Also they are very complete attacks in seconds and again. We knew we had to fight back, win possessions in defense and shoot from distance, but we didn’t. We needed 3-pointers because the opposing defense concentrated on Tavares under the basket, but we missed them.”
The fifth loss in 14 games this experience, the coach of the team after the failure in Kaunas discussed the game of Walter Tavares, the three-time defense against Keenan Evans, will be in the final four and Kaunas refused to comment on the rumors about Facundo Campazzo.
– Walter Tavares had one of his worst games (8 points, 7 rebounds, 2/8 2-pointers, 12 assists). Who caused it – Tavares himself or his opponents?
– “Žalgiris” increased the intensity at the end of the match. All matches are tough, but it could be that “Zalgiris” game plan was good. They surrounded Tavares when he got a good close pass under the basket. the opponent is able to put in the basket despite the defense, but today can do. “Zalgiris” played hard, played well, with greater intensity. Perhaps that was the most important thing.
– How do you need to score 8 points in the 6th meeting, today only 72. would you explain your problems in the attack?
– At the moment, a small rotation of defenders and no management schedule, but it is as it is. The difficulty of maintaining the main season and freshness, then it is normal for this to happen in the regular season. We have to be ready to fight even if we are not playing our best basketball. We have to keep winning and be at the top of the table.
– You were able to shut down Keenan Evans for most of the game, but he still scored 11 points in the final 11 minutes. How would you rate the defense against him?
– The defense was good, especially from the beginning of the game until the end of the third quarter. He used a free throw at the end and not our best pick and roll defense He successfully scored until the end of the attack. Keenan Evans is a great player, controlled him for three quarters.
– There are many rumors about Real Madrid and Facundo Campazzo. How would you comment on them?
– I won’t say anything about it. I will only comment on this or future matches, not rumours.
– It is almost guaranteed that the final four will take place in Kaunas this year. How do you rate it?
– The basketball atmosphere here is amazing. Fans of Latvia, that is, Lithuania, are amazing. “Zalgiris” fans have been living basketball since childhood. It would be a wonderful atmosphere to celebrate the basketball festival. But the most important thing for me is not where the final four will be held, but to be there.