Jasikevicius: “Zenit is a team with real character” 3

Zalgiris takes on its first EuroLeague double week with Alex Perez returning to the line-up, a two-game win streak and an even more impressive run in the Lithuanian basketball league. Despite the recent success, Sarunas Jasikevicius got his eyes only on his next opponent.

Zalgiris latest win comes at the expense of Cbet Prienai, as they demolished their opponents 87-55, pushing the average win margin to 25 points. Jasikevicius had no answer on whether that’s just good form or a token of the current state of the league.

“I don’t really think about that. The main accent is always the next practice, the next game. It’s still a very early phase of the season and I’ve been reading all these unrealistic articles, predictions about the LKL. We’re most focused on the game-to-game basis. Playing better, and working towards that.”

When it comes to the next game, Jasikevicius highlights the main tools of his team’s next opponent, Zenit St. Petersburg.

“Our opponent is just newly put together. A lot of new players and they still need time, as does every team at this stage. Their outlines are very clear though – it’s a team that plays great defense, physical basketball. They’ve got a lot of veterans, who don’t mind contact. Starting from the 1-spot, to the 5, while they might have small Point Guards, but they’re very strong on defense. They’ve got great size: Ponitka, Will Thomas, both their centers. Adjusting to their physicality and not giving in to their height will be a key aspect.”

According to Jasikevicius, another key component of Zenit’s game is their character, as they always come back to fight even harder after a tough outing.

“Another one would be their character. After each bad game, they come back with terrific victories. As it happened in Moscow, in Piraeus. They’ve really got character and they’re coming here to push us around and play better than us.”

The head coach noted that they have to learn from their game against ASVEL to bring out the best out of Zalgiris.

“Before the game against ASVEL, one of the main notes was physicality, and we couldn’t handle that, or we needed time to adjust. Later on it was better, but this will be a similar case. Perhaps they’ve got less hops, but they’re a wider team, if you’re talking about the players’ physicality. They’ve got a great deal of experience, much more than ASVEL.”

Coach Saras also confirmed that Alex Perez, who missed the last three games due to a groin injury, is fully back in practice, and should be ready to suit up tomorrow.

After the home game against Zenit, a visit to Istanbul awaits, as Zalgiris takes on the challenge of Fenerbahce on Friday.