Nenad Canak denies the pushing action: 'I am not an actor and a flopper' / News - Basketnews.com

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Game 3 of the Lithuanian Basketball League finals between Rytas Vilnius and Lietkabelis Panevezys was unprecedented.

Points this season

44%77,7Points made:77,7Accuracy:44,3%Place in standings:15Record max:96Record min:50Best scorer:Gediminas OrelikasTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

The match had no major sporting intrigue, but what happened after the whistle was shocking. In the second quarter, the head coach of Lietkabelis, Nenad Canak, was at the epicenter of emotions and was ejected from the duel.

Canak, the former Partizan player, began shouting at the referees for not stopping the game. He was mad because Dovydas Giedraitis was elbowed by Arnas Butkevicius and the referees did not call the foul. Moreover, Giedraitis' chin was bleeding.

Eventually, Canak received a couple of technical fouls and while heading to the locker room, Canak bumped the bench boss of Rytas, Giedrius Zibenas, who almost fell, but his players helped him stay on his feet. After that, the Serbian specialist demonstratively clapped his hands.

Lietkabelis lost the match for the second straight time by a big margin (63-85), and after the match, when asked about the conflict with Zibenas, Nenad Canak expressed his opinion.

"Everything is recorded. I mean I am not proud of that but that's me. This was my natural reaction. I am not an actor, I am not a flopper, I am just a straight guy and, obviously, I act how I feel.

At that moment, they [referees] must call a foul against Giedraitis because of the elbow, on top of that, he was bleeding. Two different situations were against us and I just reacted to that. As I said, everything was recorded. Why should I explain it? I did what I did. That's me," Canak clarified the scuffle.

Asked about the pushing action, the 46-year-old coach had his own vision of that situation.

"I did not push him [Zibenas]. I just walked my way. For sure, I am not proud of that episode. I have my own opinion but that's for me and that's it. I am not blaming [coach Zibenas]."

As stated by Canak, the referees lost control of the match and the Serbian coach was not pleased with that.

"I am not satisfied with the officiating but it's also stupid from my side because they were up by 20. It's nonsense what I am talking but if you ask me, I am not satisfied with the referees. But I must say they were up by 20 and they played much better than us. That's the reason, not referees," Canak told the media.

On the other side, Giedrius Zibenas claimed that he had never experienced a situation when an opposing team coach bumps into the other bench boss.

"If the coach bumped into the referee like that, with his shoulder? Since when a coach can walk past by the other specialist like that?" Zibenas asked.

"We want to win honourably. We lost the first game and didn't make any dramas. We just want to win, not talk, and get ready for the next match."

Game highlights

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