Paulius Motiejunas opens up about cancelled season: “100% we could have organized the bubble” 0

The premiere of New Reality, the Zalgiris documentary about a basketball season under the pandemic awaits this week. Put together by the Zalgiris TV creative team, the film looks at how the daily lives of the players and the club changed after a season-stopping coronavirus pandemic.

In one of the teasers of the documentary, Zalgiris director Paulius Motiejunas shared his memories about what thoughts were running through his min back in March of 2020 once the EuroLeague decided to cancel the latter half of the season.

“I really didn’t believe we’d cancel the season. I believed that it just isn’t possible that we couldn’t find an option to either play in a bubble, and we worked hard for it. We could have had it, 100%.

“Looking back, when we see the numbers, and we remember what the numbers were back then. And how the hotels, arena, business managed to make it through the summer with COVID-19. 100% we could have organized the bubble. And I never thought we would cancel the season. When that meeting was happening, it was just ‘wow’.

“The first thought was why did we give up, why didn’t we want to fight for it and have the conclusion of the season. With all due respect to Efes, because they worked so much to be first. We have no champions; everything just starts all over again. It’s just that feeling that the job wasn’t finished.”

In the New Reality documentary about the ending of the last season and what went on this year, Zalgiris players, coach Martin Schiller, team personnel and last season’s head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, who is now working in Barcelona, shared their thoughts and experiences during this pandemic-ridden season.

The film will be available on the Zalgiris Insider platform for all MVP plan subscribers.