Sarunas Jasikevicius faces the team of his life as Barcelona (23-11) welcomes Zalgiris (19-15) on Wednesday. The home team coach’s play-calling abilities and attention to detail will be a key part of this series, but Zalgiris chief Kazys Maksvytis has also done a great job in guiding the Lithuanian team to the playoffs in his first full season in charge. Maksvytis has created a defensively outstanding team that won its last four regular season games and will be especially alert to Barca’s long-range shooting abilities after the Spanish team led the league with an average of 40.3% three-point conversions.
Pre-Game quotes: Barcelona vs. Zalgiris
Seasons
3 Mins read
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Barcelona head coach
"We embrace the pressure. If we want to be champions, we cannot run away from it. We have to know how to deal with it and enjoy this series. It will be a slow, tactical, tough series, similar to the one we had last year against Bayern. We have to match their will and character and not allow them to surprise us with this, at which they excel. Some players like this kind of games, we have experienced people that has gone through a thousand battles. I have played against Zalgiris as a player and as a coach more than 30 times now. It's awlays a bit easier here than in Kaunas."
Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris head coach
"An interesting quarterfinal series awaits. We all practice and play basketball because of these emotions. The opponent is not one of the easiest. We are preparing, reacting to their recent matches. I can say that FC Barcelona is now on a winning streak, they won a lot of consecutive games both in the EuroLeague and in Spain. We don't know the situation with their injured players. I think it’s going to be an interesting match-up. We are ready for the first game."
Nikola Mirotic, Barcelona player
"We come to the series with humility and we only think about this first game. We must be solid both on offense and defense. We know our opponent well, and I am not surprised they are in the playoffs. The most important thing now is to get that first win and go step by step. We have to impose our rhythm, and we have to learn from the past playoff series. We must only think about the game ahead of us and control the small details that can decide any game. We are hungry, but we have to show that on the court."
Edgaras Ulanovas, Zalgiris player
"The playoffs are what we’ve been waiting for all season. The challenge is big, we will play against a good team that has been playing very good basketball for the past few seasons. Overall, they are consistently at the top of the standings. It’s a good challenge, but that’s what we’re here for this year. We played and fought for this opportunity. We are looking forward to the start of the playoffs. We cannot call ourselves favorites because we ended the season seventh. The fact that we are underdogs will not make it any easier for us."