Mudiay: ‘Having the confidence of my teammates helped me’ 0
Zalgiris Kaunas lost the first pre-season game to Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, but head coach Martin Schiller and newly acquired point guard Emmanuel Mudiay found the positives even after the disappointing outcome.
Schiller, however, admitted that his team could have played better defense in the second half of the game.
“In the third quarter, we really bled defensively,” Schiller said after the game. “They scored 27 points; throughout the second half, we had problems controlling McCollum. He scored 23 points.”
“We could stop the bleeding there and in the fourth quarter, we did a better job. At the end of the day, it all came to 1-on-1 shots. There was a big shot down the stretch for us, and it was an even bigger shot for them. It is what it is. We have to watch the video, learn, and build on that,” added Zalgiris coach.
Schiller was also delighted with Emmanuel Mudiay’s performance, who scored team-high 21 points for Zalgiris.
“I thought he had a pretty decent performance. It’s all new for him. He never played in this continent, and he never played within these rules. Knowing that it was his first game, I think he did a good job,” Zalgiris bench boss said.
Meanwhile, Mudiay praised the Lokomotiv and admitted it wasn’t the outcome that he or the team wanted.
“They’re a good, tough team,” said the new Zalgiris point guard. “McCollum is a very good player. It’s not the outcome we wanted, but we know that it is for us to keep getting better every game.
I’m just trying to get comfortable with the game. It’s my first time playing in Europe, so I’m just trying to feel the game out. My teammates were great. They gave me confidence and told me to be aggressive. Having the confidence of my teammates helped me,” Mudiay added.
Asked about how he’s getting on with the teammates on the court, Mudiay was feeling positive about the chemistry between him and the rest of the team.
“We’re doing good. It was good to finally play someone else besides ourselves. We play each other in practice every day, so we want to go ahead against somebody else.
Hearing Jankis (Paulius Jankunas) voice. He’s a good leader, and he knows what he’s talking about. Mantas (Kalnietis) as well, I listen to these guys, they help me a lot,” Mudiay said.
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