Jasikevicius feels jealous of Laprovittola and Mirotic after hitting historical milestone / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Rodolfo Molina/EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages Credit Rodolfo Molina/EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages

Sarunas Jasikevicius became the first man in EuroLeague history to make the Final Four as a coach and player at least three times.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Nicolas Laprovittola Points 26 Accuracy 7-12 Rebounds 2 Assists 3

However, after reaching a historical milestone, a 46-year-old head coach didn't hide his jealousy of Nicolas Laprovittola and Nikola Mirotic for creating a show for a season-record Palau Blaugrana crowd (7,444).

When the game was on the line, Lapro and Miro made the decisive push to the consecutive Final Four.

"There's not much joy for the coach," Jasikevicius compared making the Final Four both as a coach and a player.

"You're responsible for so many things as a coach. But for the players... I wish I were in Lapro's shoes tonight," Jasikevicius said to BasketNews.

"I would love to play in such a game, where everything is in your hands, when you're making shots and such a crowd is behind you," Jasikevicius started dreaming.

"When Lapro and Mirotic score that much when they carry this responsibility, and things go their way... It's something out of this world. When the adrenaline goes so high... That's an incredible feeling. I'm really jealous of them," Jasikevicius admitted to BasketNews.

Palau Blaugrana was packed when the team needed it the most. Although the sound at the halftime was not what you'd expected before the series even started (31-37).

A bunch of FC Bayern Munich fans were clearly heard at the roof of Barca's home gym, celebrating their team being up after the two-quarters of the decisive Game 5.

In Palau, meanwhile, you could feel a big tension facing a great season slipping away.

But Juan Carlos Navarro named Nicolas Laprovittola as his most spectacular player of Barcelona for a reason.

Nicolas Laprovittola

Team:FC BarcelonaPosition:PGAge:32Height:188 cmWeight:88 kgBirth place:ArgentinaProfileNewsStatistics

When referees made a video review to check the last play, it was not about checking if Laprovittola scored 2+1 or 3+1. It was about checking this spectacle of the Argentinian game for one more time in slow motion.

Laprovittola scored 26 points, his EuroLeague career-high, making 5 of 7 3-pointers.

He started draining his 3-point bombs from the jump. None of these were easy. But it always sparked Barcelona when it really needed it.

Laprovittola joined a rare elite club of the top performers in Game 5 history. Apart from the Argentinian guard, only Shavon Shields, Chris Singleton, and Dimitris Diamantidis reached a 30 PIR mark in Game 5 since the 2008-09 season.

"I always liked Laprovittola. I had an eye on him since his days in Lietuvos rytas. I wanted him in Zalgiris too," Sarunas Jasikevicius revealed to BasketNews. "But later he went on a higher level."

"But when we signed him in Barca, I knew his level. I knew I'll have to suffer with him a little bit. Because sometimes you have to give the game to his hands. But when he listens so much, when he's so dedicated, it's only a pure joy to work with such a player," Saras praised his newcomer.

Mirotic also delivered with 20 points and five rebounds. That was his second-ever EuroLeague playoff game with 20+ points.

Behind these milestones, there's still one big mountain that Sarunas Jasikevicius didn't climb yet.

Last year Barcelona was only one step away from winning it all, losing a title game to Anadolu Efes.

Asked if he feels that in two years, and this season particularly, Barcelona made enough progress to deserve lifting the trophy, Jasikevicius couldn't give a clear answer.

"There's no such thing as deserved a title or not. We made it to the Final Four, just like three other teams. Now it all starts from zero. One game," Jasikevicius told BasketNews.

"Deserve it or not, we're there. We just have to regroup again, rest mentally, and come to the Final Four in a much better shape when we approached these playoffs," Jasikevicius concluded.

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