May 24, 2012
Semifinal Post-Game quotes: Hemofarm Stada vs. Lietuvos Rytas
Hemofarm Stada
Lietuvos Rytas
STEVAN KARADZIC, head coach
"First of all, congratulations to Lietuvos Rytas for their victory. We had problems in the first quarter. Our defense was very bad. We gave up 24 points. Our second, third and fourth quarters, we played better defense, but we had problems with free throws. We missed 9 of them, and we made 18 turnovers. It is too much for a game like the semifinals in the Eurocup, but I think we made a good showing in the tournament and it has been big experience for my young team. I think that the Lukauskis three-pointer was decisive and lucky. It was 63-63 at the time, and that shot was very important for them. Milan Macvan didn't play very well for us, and when Bozovic came in, he played good, so it was my decision."
MILJAN PAVKOVIC, guard
"It was a hard game for us; we played very bad in the first half. We played good defense, but the offense was very bad: we didn't have concentration and we weren't able to play the way we played against Dynamo. We stayed in the game with good defense - we played excellent against Chuck Eidson. We missed some three-pointers and that hurt us. Nebojsa Joksimovic was our best player in this game and the best player of the Final Eight. He played excellent tonight. Making it to the semifinals is a job well done for us. We deserved to be here, so we are not disappointed, we are looking forward."
STEFAN MARKOVIC, guard
"Rytas had advantage the whole game. In the first half, we couldn't adapt to the way they played defense, with lots of double-teams, and that led to a lot of fastbreaks from their side. This is the main reason why we lost the game. I want to congratulate all my guys - we fought very hard and we deserved the semifinals, and I wish good luck to Rytas in the final. We fought very hard to come back and it paid out for our guys when we evened the game. I am very disappointed, but this is life -this is basketball. We will continue to work and I hope we'll be in the final next year."
NEBOJSA JOKSIMOVIC, guard
"We were down 8-9 points almost all game, we were trying to catch them all the time, but they survived the pressure we tried to give them. In the first quarter we played very bad and made lots of turnovers, so they scored many points on easy fastbreaks, 10 points in a couple minutes, I think. Catching up the whole game is very hard. Finally, we came back and the score was equal, but then Lukaiskis scored that three-pointer from 9-10 meters at the buzzer, and after that we tried to catch them very fast so we played fast offense, and we didn't have enough time. Our main goal was to put pressure on Chuck Eidson, trying to separate him from the ball and the action. A couple of times we did it, but they have other experienced guys, who pushed for them at the right time. It doesn't feel better, because I had a good game, it matters who was the best team, not the best player. I was so happy after winning over Dynamo, when almost everybody who came on the court for us scored some points."
Rimas Kurtinaitis video
RIMAS KURTINAITIS, head coach
"First, let me say a few good words for Hemofarm. They are a really good team and they played perfectly after being down by 11. They didn't lose confidence and still kept fighting. We had some trouble in the end, with just seven players, maybe we were tired. Anyway, I am happy that we won and we are a finalist now. We had some strategies to take the advantage from the beginning, because it's easier to play from six or 10 points ahead, if you can do it. I think that Hemofarm did a big job to come back from 11 down, but we did not panic. We continued to play, we switched defenses, and it helped us to play a different style at the end."
M. Petravicius video
MARIJONAS PETRAVICIUS, center
"I don't know if it was my best game this season, but I am happy with the game I had and above all, because we won. Sometimes you don't score as many points and you play well, it is not all about statistics. It is really exciting for have a second chance to win the title. We will watch the second semifinal right now to see who will be out opponent. We were a little lucky with that shot that Mindaugas (Lukauskis) made in the end but at the same time, he is used to make last-second shots. It worked out for us. We played aggressive defense in the beginning and that was one of the keys to the game. Even when they managed to tie the game, we stayed focused and played better in the final 2 minutes to win it."
ARTURAS JOMANTAS, forward
"Being back in the Eurocup final is a wonderful feeling. Once again, Lietuvos Rytas is in an European final and now we are waiting for tomorrow and will try our best to bring the cup back to Vilnius. We realy expected Hemofarm to be a very tough opponent and they showed their talent tonight. They may not have well-known names, but it is a team with a lot of energy. They played together so it was very hard to beat them tonight. As for which opponent I prefer in the final, it doesn't really matter. We must focus on our game and play hard tomorrow."
MINDAUGAS LUKAUSKIS, guard
"I had to shoot the ball no matter what, there were just 3 seconds left on the shot clock. Had a good release and it went it, I am very happy about it. This is my third Eurocup final and I don't think anybody did that before, even when I didn't play in 2005. We worked really hard to be in the final and this is an unbelievable feeling. We played good defense, managed to control the defensive rebound. Our shooters scored a lot in the beginning of the game and even when they came back, we never lost concentration and had the game in our hands. Hemofarm was a great opponent, but I think we outpowered them in the final minutes."
DONATAS ZAVACKAS, forward
"It feels good to be in the final. There were some doubts about this team and nobody expected us to be in the finals. We proved almost everybody wrong. No matter what people say before games or in the beginning of the season, we made it to the finals and have a very important game to play tomorrow. you never know what is going to happen. We may win or lose, but did a great job this season. Everybody did a great job on Milan Macvan in the beginning of the game, not only me. Our coach insisted on playing as hard as we could and managed to win the game. It doesn't matter who we play against, we will give 100%. I don't know if we are going to win but we are definitely going to try."
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com
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