Jasikevicius: “Anadolu Efes is the best team in Europe right now” (VIDEO) 0

Having won the last 8 games in the EuroLeague, there’s no competition who the hottest team in the league is. Zalgiris is going up against Anadolu Efes, who are safely at the top of the standings with a three-game advantage over the second place.

While Zalgiris can’t boast having some of the best basketball players in the league, the team’s recent results aren’t way behind.

Since Christmas, Anadolu Efes has won all eight games, while Zalgiris comes in with the second-best record in the same period, standing at 6-2.

“We know we’ve been playing well. Everyone understands that and we’ve got to continue it. We try to tell our players that they can enjoy the situation and where we’re improving. But we can’t forget that we’re our own Zalgiris with our own limitations. In most games we need to get over ourselves to win.”

Zalgiris will receive much needed reinforcements, as Jock Landale, who missed the first game of the double EuroLeague week due to illness, will be travelling with the team to Turkey.

Speaking of Anadolu Efes, Coach Saras was blunt, pointing them out to be leaps and bounds the best team in the league.

“Efes is currently the best team in Europe. They beat all the best teams on the road, playing stably, they have their leaders. You’ve got to admit they can still take another step defensively with their intensity. That breaks some games too. For this day, they are the best team in Europe on both sides of the court.”

“Of course, stopping their guards is important. All teams understand it, but nothing still helps. We need to get over ourselves and understand we can’t battle against them points-wise. We need to stop them, there’s no place to risk really. It’s going to be a tough matchup.”

Shane Larkin, who’s won the weekly MVP for the last four rounds, is often hailed as the best player currently playing in Europe, and Jasikevicius agrees with that notion.

“I think yes, you’ve always got to take team success into considering best players. He’s the best player on the best team. So I think he is the best player in Europe right now.”