Jasikevicius: “It’s vital that we go out there and battle” 0

Sarunas Jasikevicius congratulated his buddy Darius Maskoliunas on earning the Lithuanian men’s national team coaching position, but has his eyes on future EuroLeague battles.

On Friday evening Zalgiris awaits a road game in Piraeus against Olympiacos, guided by Lithuanian specialist Kestutis Kemzura, who took over from David Blatt at the start of the season.

Jasikevicius shared his thoughts on how Olympiacos’ basketball philosophy with their new head coach.

“It’s difficult to say since Blatt was there only for one game. I don’t know how much it really changed. They are making roster adjustments, they’re trying to bring in the new guys. I think the roster is much better with the arrival of Rochestie and Reed, than it was at the start of the season.”

“Rochestie is an experienced ball handler, he makes good decisions. That’s I think the biggest change – he can take off some pressure and other responsibilities from Spanoulis and Printezis. It’s a really solid addition.”

When asked about exploiting Olympiacos’ up-and-down start to the season, Jasikevicius stressed that this early in the season, every team will have their struggles.

“We need to understand who we are defending against. Every player has his own advantages, we need to know where we risk it. But the most important thing is that we go out there and battle. They play more physical, better basketball at home. On the other hand, each team is still having their ups and downs. As are we, as are they.”